When a loved one is diagnosed with cerebral palsy, you may wonder what the best way to care for them is. It can be difficult to find a good balance between promoting independence and offering the right level of support, especially if your loved one’s condition requires lifelong care.
In many cases, a holistic approach is often the best. Today, we’ll explore how to care for someone with cerebral palsy, including creating a complex care plan and when to consider professional support.
What Is Cerebral Palsy?
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term for a group of conditions that affect a person’s ability to control their mobility and motor function. 1 in 400 people in the UK are affected by cerebral palsy, which is a neurological condition that can also cause developmental delays and learning disabilities.
The condition is caused by abnormalities in the brain resulting from developmental or acquired damage, usually from birth or in early childhood.
There are five types of cerebral palsy, including:
- Spastic: This type of cerebral palsy affects 80% of individuals and is characterised by stiff, tight muscles and high muscle tone.
- Dyskinetic: Involves uncontrollable, slow or jerky movements due to fluctuating muscle tone. This type often affects the hands, feet, arms and legs, making moving around difficult.
- Ataxic: This type affects balance and coordination, making individuals feel unsteady on their feet. They may also have difficulty with fine motor skills.
- Hypotonic: A rarer form of cerebral palsy, this type is characterised by severely low muscle tone, causing people to appear ‘floppy’ with excessive flexibility.
- Mixed cerebral palsy: This type of cerebral palsy features symptoms from more than one type. The most common combination is spastic and dyskinetic.
Cerebral Palsy Symptoms
Each type of cerebral palsy has its own symptoms, but there are several common symptoms that relate to the condition.
These include:
- Muscle spasms, weakness and stiffness
- Difficulty communicating
- Lack of balance and coordination
- Difficulty swallowing
- Floppy limbs
- Paralysis
- Involuntary hand, arm and leg movements
- Chronic pain
Practical Tips for Caring for Someone with Cerebral Palsy
When supporting someone with cerebral palsy, you may need to help them with daily tasks and monitor symptoms that arise, such as asthma attacks and seizures. Below, we’ve detailed practical tips on how to properly support someone with cerebral palsy:
1. Assist with Daily Activities
Some adults with cerebral palsy may struggle to complete daily activities on their own, such as getting dressed or eating. Certain types impact fine motor skills, which can make holding a cup or toothbrush tricky.
When supporting a loved one with this condition, ask them if they’d like your assistance with daily activities. This helps maintain their independence as you’re avoiding taking over the task altogether, while still supporting them when they need it.
2. Monitor Physical and Emotional Health
Adults with cerebral palsy may be at higher risk of additional health issues, such as chronic pain, seizures, feeding difficulties and vision impairment. They may have a higher chance of getting chest infections or pneumonia. Fatigue, emotional issues and poor growth are also common complications.
Due to the increased risk of further complications, you’ll need to monitor your loved one’s physical and emotional health. Noticing early warning signs may be critical in some situations, especially if it has the potential to turn into a medical emergency.
3. Encourage Socialisation
Socialisation is incredibly important for people with cerebral palsy as it can help their emotional and mental well-being. However, limited mobility and difficulty with daily routines may reduce their willingness to go out by themselves, increasing feelings of isolation and loneliness.
When caring for your loved one, consider encouraging them to socialise by joining cerebral palsy support groups. There may be other groups in the community where they can get together with people with similar interests and enjoy fun activities together.
4. Support Engaging Activities
Many adults with cerebral palsy have often lived with their disorder for a considerable amount of time, so they’ll have a good idea of what they’re capable of doing. However, they may still avoid engaging in activities if they’re worried about their symptoms being noticed by others.
You can encourage them to get involved in fun activities that aren’t outside of their comfort zone. For example, cooking or playing adaptive sports together can be a wonderful way to spend time together and boost their self-confidence.
5. Help with Medication Reminders and Management
People with cerebral palsy often require regular medications to manage their symptoms. They may also require medicine for other related health issues that arise. It is important that they remain on a regular schedule to keep their medications working effectively.
As a carer, you can remind your loved one of when they need to take their medications. They may also need your help with administering doses, depending on the severity of their symptoms. If you can’t be with them all the time, it may be helpful to get them a weekly pill dispenser and set alarms on their phone.
Do People with Cerebral Palsy Need Round the Clock Care?
Whether a person with cerebral palsy needs round the clock care or not depends on their symptoms. The condition is a spectrum, with needs ranging from minimal assistance for independent living to 24/7 support for complex mobility, communication and medical requirements.
Many families choose to care for their loved one on their own, with a schedule of when each person can visit the individual and support them with daily activities. This often works well for people who don’t need much assistance but still benefit from companionship and emotional support.
However, you may find that your loved one requires more assistance than you can provide. Round-the-clock care is usually needed for individuals with severe, complex needs that make living alone difficult, such as significant physical disabilities or the need for constant medical supervision.
How Trinity Homecare Can Help
At Trinity Homecare, we take a holistic approach to complex care. Starting with a comprehensive assessment of an individual’s needs, we’ll create a tailored care plan based on their lifestyle, preferences and clinical requirements.
Our expertly trained carers offer both specialised live-in care and routine visits for individuals with cerebral palsy. We’ll help you decide which service is best depending on your loved one’s care needs and condition complexity. As needs change over time, so will our care plan. Our carers can help with daily routines, transport to and from appointments, social activities and hobbies, medication reminders and more.
Talk to us today
At Trinity Homecare, our ultimate goal is to enrich your lifestyle in the comfort and familiarity of your own home. This allows you to live the independent lifestyle that you love without the daunting thought of moving into a care home. We are here to support you with various forms of live-in care.
Call us now on 0207 183 4884 in confidence for a free no obligation quotation. If enquiring outside of our opening hours, please complete our online form and we will contact you the next day.
