Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1059420,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1059420/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 254,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Dr.) Musuruve",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13188,
        "legal_name": "Getrude Musuruve Inimah",
        "slug": "getrude-musuruve-inimah"
    },
    "content": "begins to show developmental delays. Mostly children begin to show awkward movements, difficulty following objects with eyes and problems grasping things. Ataxic cerebral palsy is the least common form of cerebral palsy. Dyskinetic cerebral palsy also called Athetoid Cerebral Palsy affects muscles. Children with this type of cerebral palsy have trouble controlling muscle movement. They have twisting abrupt movements. Spastic cerebral palsy is the most common. Children with spastic cerebral palsy have stiff muscles. The stiffness may be in the upper part of the body, lower part of the body or both. In general, the most common symptoms of spastic cerebral palsy are: stiff/tight muscles (hypertonia) on one or both sides of the body, exaggerated movements, limited mobility, crossed knees, walking on tip toes, abnormal gait and contractures. Many people with spastic cerebral palsy have walking abnormalities such as crossing their knees or making scissor like movements with their legs while walking. Madam Deputy Speaker, children with cerebral palsy may experience specific learning difficulties. These may include short attention span, motor planning difficulties (organizational and sequencing), perceptual difficulties and language difficulties. These can impact on literacy, numeracy and other skills. There is no cure for cerebral palsy, but a child’s quality of life can improve with treatment that may include surgery; therapy, including physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy; special equipment to help children get around and communicate with others. In creating awareness of cerebral palsy, I would like to urge county governments, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and all members of the society to empathize with children with cerebral palsy and their caregivers by creating awareness and a sustainable support system that will help children with cerebral palsy live a productive life. Actionable tender love and care will go a long way in creating some amount of confidence and feelings of acceptance in the lives of these children and their caretakers. As we mark the cerebral palsy awareness month, I would like to urge the Ministry of Education together with all key partners and players in education to do their best in ensuring that children identified with cerebral palsy are accorded specialised instruction designed to meet their unique learning needs so that they can develop to their fullest potential. In caring for a child with cerebral palsy, parents and or caregivers need to be their child’s home therapists, help children be active, keep a bright outlook, get to know other parents/caregivers who have children with cerebral palsy, and focus on diet. Members of the society need to embrace families of children with cerebral palsy and refrain from labelling the child and their families. Societal attitude and support system is important in making the cerebral palsy child and caregiver feel loved and accepted. Madam Deputy Speaker, people keen in supporting children with cerebral palsy can reach out to families or organizations that deal with cerebral palsy to find out on various specific points of intervention. Some points of intervention revolve around therapy services, for instance, speech, physio and occupational therapy; provision of food rich in calcium such as milk, yoghurt, cheese, and calcium supplement fruit juices and vitamin D rich foods such as fish. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}