In celebration of World CP Day, Cerebral Palsy Family Network would love to know how CP has affected your world. This can be anything from the hardships to the triumphs. The Cerebral Palsy Family Network was created to help families find the resources they need locally and globally to overcome the challenges CP presents. Please take some time and tell us about your story in the comments section of this article. We will be highlighting the stories in upcoming blogs and newsletters. You never know how your story may impact people across the world, so don't hesitate to share.
Starting in 2012 and going forward, the first Tuesday in September will take on a whole new meaning across the globe. Tuesday September 4, 2012, will be the first annual World Cerebral Palsy Day. This will be a day for 17,000,000 global citizens to come together to raise awareness on a local, national and international levels in a collaborative effort to make a difference in the lives of those living with cerebral palsy and their families.
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a widely misunderstood condition that affects twice as many people as multiple sclerosis. Yet, the public has limited awareness and understanding of cerebral palsy. CP is actually the largest cause of physical disability in children and the incidence occurs at a rate of somewhere between one in 400 to 500 births. One of the greatest barriers to gaining a higher profile for CP is that cerebral palsy is often used as an umbrella term for encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement, unlike many other disabilities which have more narrowly defined conditions.
“World CP Day is an exciting world first, not only to engage the CP community to create innovative ideas that could change their world but also to engage inventors, developers, innovation companies, universities or even people with disabilities who are budding inventors to create products and solutions to the many ideas submitted,” explains Marcus Blease, General Manager of Fundraising & Marketing from Cerebral Palsy Alliance in Australia.
This worldwide awareness initiative aims to shed some light on the perceptions in various countries that people with disabilities are ‘taken care of’ by the government and do not need financial support from the public. This worldwide initiative by partnered CP agencies, which includes organizations in Canada, USA, Australia, England, Scotland, India and many more, are joining forces to raise the level of awareness and understanding through this collaborative celebration of World CP Day.
World Cerebral Palsy Day, on 4 September 2012, is a world first! It will change the lives of people with cerebral palsy (CP). The theme for this unique day is 'Change my world in 1 minute'.
There are 17 million people around the world with cerebral palsy. A further 350 million people are closely connected to a child or adult with CP.
Visit the official World CP Day website to learn more about World CP Day and participate in the "Change my world in 1 minute" challenge. The website is a forum for people with cerebral palsy to express what they need to make their life more independent or more rewarding. The website also gives anybody the opportunity to make these ideas a reality by posting ideas about how they want to improve the quality of life of people with CP. These ideas could affect any aspect of a person’s life such as their mobility, independence, accessibility, communication or social connection.
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