Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensation, vision, hearing, and speaking. Often, babies with cerebral palsy do not roll over, sit, crawl or walk as early as other children of their age. Other symptoms include seizures and problems with thinking or reasoning, each of which occur in about one-third of people with CP. While symptoms may get more noticeable over the first few years of life, underlying problems do not worsen over time.
My Left Foot is the 1954 autobiography of Christy Brown, who was born with cerebral palsy on 5 June 1932 in Dublin, Ireland. As one of 13 surviving children, Brown went on to be an author, painter and poet.
Geraldine Ann "Geri" Jewell is an American actress, stand-up comedian, diversity consultant, and motivational speaker, noted for roles on the 1980s sitcom The Facts of Life and the mid-2000s western Deadwood. She is known as being one of the first people on a TV sitcom with cerebral palsy, and she has helped advocate for the disabled throughout her career. She has also been an advocate for the LGBTQ community since publicly coming out as lesbian in her 2011 autobiography.
Katie and Orbie is a Canadian animated television series aimed at preschoolers, originally broadcast in Canada from 1994 to 2002 by Family Channel and later aired in the USA on PBS from 1995 to 1997 and cable television network Disney Channel from 1997 to 2000. In Canada, the series aired uninterruptedly on Family Channel and beginning in 2007, on Disney Junior until December 31, 2012. A total of 78 episodes were produced over six seasons. The series has also aired in different countries around the world.
Jean Little, CM was an award-winning Canadian writer of over 50 books. Her work mainly consisted of children's literature, but she also wrote two autobiographies: Little by Little and Stars Come Out Within. Little was partially blind since birth as a result of scars on her cornea and was frequently accompanied by a guide dog.
Inside I'm Dancing, also released under the title Rory O'Shea Was Here, is an 2004 Irish comedy-drama film directed by Damien O'Donnell and starring James McAvoy, Steven Robertson, Romola Garai, and Brenda Fricker. The film revolves around two disabled young men who pursue physical and emotional independence in direct defiance of "protective" institutional living and their society's prevailing standards and attitudes, especially pity.
Oasis (Korean: 오아시스) is a 2002 South Korean psychological drama romance film directed by Lee Chang-dong. The film's plot tells about the difficult romance between a mildly mentally disabled man who has just been released from jail after a 2+1⁄2-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter and a woman with severe cerebral palsy. Starring in these roles are the couple from Lee Chang-dong's previous film Peppermint Candy: Sol Kyung-gu and Moon So-ri. The movie also shows how the two main characters are treated by their families and perceived by the people around them.
The Kid & I is a 2005 American comedy film directed by Penelope Spheeris and starring Tom Arnold and Eric Gores.
Cara Readle is a Welsh actress from Swansea, Wales, known mainly for her role as Layla in The Story of Tracy Beaker from series three to five.
In medicine, the adjective spastic refers to an alteration in muscle tone affected by the medical condition spasticity, which is a well-known symptomatic phenomenon seen in patients with a wide range of central neurological disorders, including spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and multiple sclerosis (MS), as well as conditions such as "spastic colon." The word is derived via Latin from the Greek spastikos.
Stuck in Neutral is a young adult novel by Terry Trueman. It focuses deeply on the subject of cerebral palsy, quality of life, and euthanasia. The main character is Shawn McDaniel, a fourteen-year-old who has cerebral palsy. The story, told from Shawn's perspective, also focuses on how his family copes with the condition. Shawn's mother, brother, sister, and father are all talked about in the book. Stuck in Neutral received recognition as an Honor Book for the Michael L. Printz Award in 2001.
Disability in the arts is an aspect within various arts disciplines of inclusive practices involving disability. It manifests itself in the output and mission of some stage and modern dance performing-arts companies, and as the subject matter of individual works of art, such as the work of specific painters and those who draw.
Mithu Alur is the founder chairperson of The Spastic Society of India – now rechristened ADAPT – Able Disable All People Together. She is an educator, disability rights activist, researcher, writer and published author on issues concerning people with disability in India.
Malini Chib is an Indian disability rights activist and author who has cerebral palsy. Chib wrote the book One Little Finger over the course of two years by typing with only one finger.
The Rules of Charity is a 2005 play by the American playwright John Belluso. The play premiered on April 23, 2005, at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco, California. It has since had an Off-Broadway run. The play focuses on a man named Monty with cerebral palsy who uses a wheelchair, and whose adult daughter takes care of him.
Theatre and disability is a subject focusing on the inclusion of disability within a theatrical experience, enabling cultural and aesthetic diversity in the arts. Showing disabled bodies on stage can be to some extent understood as a political aesthetic as it challenges the predominately abled audience's expectations as well as traditional theatre conventions. However, the performance of disabilities on stage has raised polarizing debates about whether the performers are exposed and reduced to their disability or whether they have full agency of who they are and what they represent.
Mona Winberg,CM was a Canadian journalist and disability rights activist. Concerned over policies that discuss disabilities or promote accessibility and independence, Winberg began writing for the Ontario Federation for Cerebral Palsy and eventually became the first disabled person to serve as president of the organization. In the 1980s, she approached the Toronto Sun about the lack of media coverage on disability issues and they hired her to write a weekly column. She was honored with the King Clancy Award and was inducted into the Terry Fox Hall of Fame by the Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons and a recipient of the Order of Canada.
Nujeen Mustafa is a Kurdish Syrian refugee and activist with cerebral palsy. She was raised in Aleppo, Syria, and gained attention after traveling 3,500 miles (5,600 km) by wheelchair, fleeing conflict in the Syrian Civil War, before arriving and resettling in Germany. She was listed as one of the BBC's 100 Women in 2018, and her story was featured on the television show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. In 2019 she became the first disabled person to brief the United Nations Security Council, and was the recipient of the Alison Des Forges Award for Extraordinary Activism from Human Rights Watch. She has co-authored two books about her experiences. She resides in Wesseling where she attends a school for those with disabilities.
Dr. Kuli Kohli is an Indian-British disabled writer, poet, social activist and council worker of Punjabi descent. She is known for her literary works and has conducted several live performances. She was born with cerebral palsy, and confronts difficulties with handwriting, speaking, walking and hearing in her performances.
Sandhya Dhar is an Indian disability rights activist. She was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at an early age and is a wheelchair user. She founded the Jammu Institute of General Education and Rehabilitation (JIGER) in 2015 to support disabled people and was awarded the 2020 Nari Shakti Puraskar.
