104 chapter 9
DEVELOPING EARLY SKILLS
Most children with cerebral palsy develop basic skills and abilities more slowly than
other children. This is partly because of their difficulty with balance and movement.
Also, in some children, mental slowness or problems with seeing or hearing make
learning more difficult. Because slow development occurs with many different
disabilities, we discuss activities for child development in a separate section of this
book.
In this chapter, therefore, we give only a few suggestions for assisting a child with
cerebral palsy to learn new skills.
VERY IMPORTANT:
To understand better how to help a child with cerebral palsy
develop early skills, you also need to read other chapters.
Chapters 34 and 35 are about helping the child whose mind
and/or body are slow to develop. Chapters 36 to 41 discuss
ways of helping children develop and become more self-
reliant.
Although Chapters 34 to 41 are written to help any children
who are slow to develop, many suggestions are included for
the specific needs of the child with cerebral palsy. These are
marked with CP in the margin.
To help a child develop new skills, first observe all the things that she can and cannot
do. Like a normal baby who progresses stage by stage in a certain order, the child
with cerebral palsy must do the same. Charts showing the normal ‘developmental
milestones’ are on pages 292 and 293. You can use them to help decide the next
steps or skills that the child may be ready to learn.
Help the child advance slowly, at her own speed, in small steps. If we try to go too fast
because of her age, she can become discouraged by failure. Also, her progress can be
held back. This happens when we stand a child and try to make him walk before he is
ready. (See p. 291.)
Move ahead at a speed that fits your child—
not too fast and not too slow.
To help a child with cerebral palsy develop skills takes a lot of time, energy, patience,
and love. The whole family needs to help, and also, if possible, others in the community.
(See Chapter 33.)
Remember that positioning is very important. When the child has been helped to
lie, sit, and stand in ways that give him better positions and control, he will start learning
to do things he could not do before.
Good balance is one of the most important goals for the development of the child with
cerebral palsy. It is important to help a child improve her balance from as young an age as
possible. At each stage of the child’s development—lying, sitting, creeping, standing, and
walking—better balance is needed to progress to the next stage.
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