Cerebral Palsy   Cerebral palsy (CP), or static encephalopathy,
is the name for a collection of movement disorders caused by
brain damage that occurs before, during, or shortly after birth.
A person with CP is often also affected by other conditions
caused by brain damage.   The affected muscles of a person with
CP may become rigid or excessively loose. The person may lose
control of muscles, or have problems with balance and
coordination. A combination of these is also possible. Those
with CP may be primarily affected in the legs (paraplegia or
diplegia), or in the arm and leg of one side of the body
(hemiplegia), or all four limbs may be involved (quadriplegia).
A person with CP may also be affected by a number of other
problems, including a seizure disorder, visual deficits, hearing
problems, mental retardation, learning disabilities, and
attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. None of these is
necessarily part of CP, however, they may accompany the
disorder.  CP affects approximately 500,000 children a