Spastic Diplegia--Bilateral Cerebral Palsy: Understanding the Motor Problems, Their Impact on Walking, and Management Throughout Life: a Practical Guide for Families

“A must-read for professionals, parents, and the individual with CP.”
—Deborah Gaebler-Spira, MD

An empowering and evidence-based guide for living a full life with spastic diplegia—bilateral cerebral palsy.

“This detailed and practical book on spastic diplegia, written by a parent in conjunction with medical practitioners at Gillette, is simply brilliant and fills a huge gap.”—Lori Poliski, parent

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common cause of childhood-onset lifelong physical disability. Approximately one-third of those with CP have the subtype spastic diplegia—also known as bilateral spastic CP, or simply bilateral CP. An estimated 6 million worldwide have spastic diplegia. Until now, there has been no book focused on this condition to help this large group of people. This book focuses on the motor problems—problems with bones, muscles, and joints, and their impact on walking. The Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) is a five-level system that indicates the severity of the condition. This book is relevant to those at GMFCS levels I to III: those who are capable of walking independently or with a handheld mobility device. These three levels account for the majority of people with spastic diplegia.

The book addresses how spastic diplegia develops over the lifespan and explains the evidence-based, best-practice treatments. It empowers parents of young children, and adolescents and adults with the condition, to become better advocates and co–decision makers in the medical process. The focus of this optimistic, yet practical book is on maximizing activity and participation—living life to its fullest. Health care professionals, educators, students, and extended family members will also benefit from reading this book. Indeed, while this book focuses on spastic diplegia, much of what is addressed also applies to other forms of spastic CP at GMFCS levels I to III, namely hemiplegia and quadriplegia.

Written by Lily Collison, a parent of a son with spastic diplegia and a medical sciences graduate, in close collaboration with senior medical experts from Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare—a world-renowned center of excellence for CP treatment—this is an excellent, long-needed resource for spastic diplegia.

“I highly recommend this book to people who have CP, parents, family members, and medical professionals.”
—Hank Chambers, MD

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Lily Collison, MA, MSc, parent of a 25-year-old with spastic diplegia. She worked in industry and education.

Jean Stout, PT, MS, Research Physical Therapist at the James R. Gage Center for Gait and Motion Analysis, Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.

Amy Schulz, PT, NCS, Physical Therapist and Clinical Educator at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare.

Candice Johnson, OTD, OTR/L, Rehabilitation Therapies Administrative Supervisor–CORE (Clinical Outcomes, Research, and Education) at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare and Gillette Phalen Clinic.

Tom F. Novacheck, MD, Associate Medical Director at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare, Professor of Orthopedics at the University of Minnesota, and Vice-President, American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine.