Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is the most common lifelong physical disability in America.

The United Cerebral Palsy Association estimates that anywhere between 500,000 and 700,000 American children and adults currently have cerebral palsy. One in every 1,000 babies in the United States is diagnosed as having cerebral palsy.

Annually, it is estimated that 3,500 to 4,000 infants are born with this condition, and an additional 1,500 preschool age children acquire cerebral palsy as the result of accidents or abuse.

Cerebral palsy is not progressive (it doesn't get worse as you get older), it is not communicable (you can't “catch” it from someone else), it is not inherited (it is not a trait that is passed down from parents to children), and it is not a primary cause of death (people don't die from it).