Cerebral Palsy A Complete Guide for Caregiving second edition

When a child has a health problem, parents want answers. But when a child has cerebral
palsy, the answers don’t come quickly. A diagnosis of this complex group of chronic
conditions affecting movement and coordination is difficult to make and is typically delayed
until the child is eighteen months old. Although the condition may be mild or severe, even
general predictions about long-term prognosis seldom come before the child’s second
birthday.
Written by a team of experts associated with the Cerebral Palsy Program at the Alfred I.
duPont Hospital for Children, this authoritative resource provides parents and families with
vital information that can help them cope with uncertainty. Thoroughly updated and revised to
incorporate the latest medical advances, the second edition is a comprehensive guide to
cerebral palsy.
The book is organized into three parts. In the first, the authors describe specific patterns of
involvement (hemiplegia, diplegia, quadriplegia), explain the medical and psychosocial
implications of these conditions, and tell parents how to be effective advocates for their child.
In the second part, the authors provide a wealth of practical advice about caregiving from
nutrition to mobility. Part three features an extensive alphabetically arranged encyclopedia
that defines and describes medical terms and diagnoses, medical and surgical procedures,
and orthopedic and other assistive devices. Also included are lists of resources and
recommended reading.