World Cerebral Palsy Day 2022: History, Significance and Quotes to Share

To express pride for the lives and achievements of people with Cerebral Palsy, every year, on October 6, the world comes together to celebrate, World Cerebral Palsy Day. Cerebral Palsy affects approximately over 17 million people around the globe.

According to the International Classification of Diseases, Cerebral Palsy is “a group of disorders affecting the development of movement and posture, often accompanied by disturbances of sensation, perception, cognition, and behaviour. It results from damage to the fetal or infant’s brain.” The Cerebral Palsy Alliance recognised October 6 as World Cerebral Palsy day. Here’s everything you need to know about this day:

World Cerebral Palsy Day: History

In 1810, Dr. William John Little, the first person to study Cerebral Palsy was born.

Harry Jennings built the first modern folding wheelchair in 1932. His aim was to improve the lives of those with motor impairments.

1948 marked the formation of the United Cerebral Palsy Association. It was to help people with cerebral palsy receive better diagnosis, treatment and funding.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted the first major U.S. Cerebral Palsy study to understand the prevalence and impact of the disorder.

In 2012, the Cerebral Palsy Alliance designated October 6th as World Cerebral Palsy Day. The aim was to bring people living with cerebral palsy, their families, supporters and organizations together across more than 100 countries. They wanted to make sure that children and adults with cerebral palsy had the same rights, access, and opportunities as the rest of the world.

World Cerebral Palsy Day: Significance

World Cerebral Palsy Day is observed to understand the impact of the disorder. It affects infants and children alike. According to the World Cerebral Palsy Day official website, “Cerebral palsy is one of the least understood disabilities and people with cerebral palsy are often out of sight, out of mind and out of options in communities around the world. This needs to change.” The aim for this year’s 2022 Millions Of Reasons Campaign is “to embrace diversity and to help create a more accessible future for everyone.”

World Cerebral Palsy Day: Quotes

1. “Placing one foot in front of the other, I’ve climbed to higher lengths. Reaching beyond my own limitations, to show my inner strength. No obstacle is too hard for this warrior to overcome. I’m just a man on a mission, to prove my disability hasn’t won.”  – Robert M. Hensel, world record holder with spina bifida
2. You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ . . . You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
3. “There are times during this journey that are so challenging and you may feel lost and discouraged. These are times when “showing up” for the day and having an open mind and a prayer on your breath are the best tools you have to work with. It’s very humbling and most of us parents have been there. May love and hope hold you until this time passes.” – Michele Shusterman, Founder of CP Daily Living
4. “With tremendous burdens often come enormous gifts. The trick is to identify the gifts, and glory in them.” -Dr. Maya Shetreat-Klein
5. Of course my education has been uniquely difficult – no one apart from Chickenshed believed that I was anything more than the label “cerebral palsy” – I was even described to my family as a vegetable. Who in this world would feel that they need to educate someone like me? This has held me back. If people had believed in me before we found Chickenshed then I don’t know what mountains I would have been able to climb.” –Paula Rees, cerebral palsy patient, writer, producer, and performer at the Chickenshed Theatre”

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