This article is a brief overview of cerebral palsy history, if you have more information or would like to know more, please let us know by leaving a comment.

First known as cerebral paralysis, cerebral palsy was indentified by an english surgeon, Dr Willian John Little, in 1860, though his work on cerebral palsy began in the 1930s but was unnamed. He suggested that brain damage caused by asphyxia during birth may be the cause. His work focused on spastic cerebral palsy, or spastic diplegia, which was first referred to as Little’s Disease. Dr Little is the first known person in cerebral palsy history to have devoted time to study the disorder.

In 1889, William Osler published “The Cerebral Palsies of Children”, making the term “cerebral palsy” widespread. In it he talks about the nervous system and it’s connection to clinical observations.

Then in 1897 Sigmund Freud, then a neurologist, thought the disorder was due to problems at the embryonical stages, or at least before birth. His main point was that this would explain other forms of cerebral palsy. He was subsequently proven right but his idea was not widely accepted until the 1960s. His study of the condition is probably the most important one in cerebral palsy history since it allowed a shift in the focus of what the causes actually are.

During the 20th century, advancements in pharmaceutical research, and an increased awareness of cerebral palsy, led to promising discoveries with the use of medication and different surgeries being met with some success.

During the 1980s the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes (NINDS) suggested that only a small number of CP cases are a result of asphyxia during birth. In fact cerebral palsy is caused by air depravation at birth only 10% of the time.

Although far from being able to cure cerebral palsy entirely, findings from the last few decades bring hope to many affected by the disorder, as more and more research is done and more people become aware of the need for solutions. With the medical community today having a growing interest in studying cerebral palsy, treatments are sure to keep improving.

That is, in a very small nutshell, cerebral palsy history.