Affecting Life Span of Cerebral Palsy

Life span is among a parent’s immediate concerns for a child. Although life expectancy hinges on many factors, most individuals with cerebral palsy enjoy a healthy lifespan as long as life-threatening associative conditions are managed, and healthful medical care and lifestyle supports are implemented. In general, there are eight factors that have been identified to affect life span for individuals with cerebral palsy.

Predicting how life span is altered by a medical condition is nearly impossible, although it is of great concern to parents. Doctors often aren’t able to immediately diagnose cerebral palsy in newborns, and even when they can, it typically takes months to years to accurately assess the level and extent of impairment a child will experience.
For an accurate estimation, primary care physicians wait for the brain to fully develop, observe the child over time and gauge key developmental milestones.
Therapy, treatment, and technology continue to advance in ways that minimize effects of impairment, while worldwide and national policy initiatives focus on ensuring barrier-free, accessible environments in home, school, transportation, recreation, government, and public space.
Although it may be difficult to determine a prognosis for a child with cerebral palsy, setting goals in cooperation with the child’s doctors and learning to properly manage impairment, associated conditions, and co-mitigating factors can improve outcomes.
Still, none of these factors indicate how a person’s life span will be affected. The majority of individuals with cerebral palsy live until late adulthood. However, while some individuals with severe impairments may live a long time, the more severe the impairment and the greater number of health conditions, the higher the likelihood of a shorter life span.
Properly managing these conditions will help minimize risk and optimize life expectancy. In particular, eight factors are identified as areas of concern which have the capacity to shorten life span in cases of cerebral palsy. They are:
Number of impairments and key disabilities
Severity level
Mobility restrictions
Feeding difficulties
Seizures
Cognitive functioning
Visual acuity
Respiratory functioning

These are detailed below.
Additional information can be found at Life Expectancy of Cerebral Palsy.