Cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy refers to a collection of diseases with the common clinical features of motor impairment resulting from damage to the brain before birth, around birth or in early childhood.

Cerebral palsy can be accompanied by epilepsy, defects in intellect, vision, hearing, speech and spacial awareness, and musculo-skeletal problems.

Cerebral palsy is the most common physical disability in children.

For every child under the age of 18 years diagnosed with cancer, there are three with cerebral palsy.

For most, the cause is unknown. There is no pre-birth test. There is no known cure for cerebral palsy - it lasts a lifetime.

Our research

The need for larger sample sizes to improve knowledge regarding the extent and distribution of cerebral palsy across Australia resulted in the formal launch of the Australian Cerebral Palsy Register in 2007. This national register is a collaboration of cerebral palsy registers in all States and Territories in Australia, with only the Northern Territory still seeking funding. The coverage of the Australian register has grown from 45 per cent at its inception in 1992 to almost 100 per cent today. A website (www.cpregister-aus.com.au) provides information about cerebral palsy and provides facilities for each State to enter data into the register and also allows members of the public to directly contribute their information.

The national register is modelled on our Western Australian Cerebral Palsy Register, one of the longest-standing cerebral palsy registers in the world, which we continue to manage. We collect data to monitor the occurrence of cerebral palsy and to carry out research to investigate its causes and evaluate treatment strategies.