Cerebral palsy in adults: summary of NICE guidance.

### What you need to know Cerebral palsy is a non-progressive (though not unchanging) disorder of movement and posture pathology associated with an impairment of the developing fetal or infant brain (up to 2 years old)—when the maturation of the brain is most rapid and therefore most at risk from damage from, for example, prematurity, hypoxia, or infection. The prevalence remains at around 2-3 per 1000 live births, and most affected children live well into adult life.1 It is described in terms of topography (unilateral or bilateral), predominant motor subtype (usually spasticity and/or dyskinesis/dystonia), and severity (such as the Gross Motor Functional Classification System (GMFCS) see box 1). Box 1 ### Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS)2 This five-level clinical classification system describes the gross motor function of people with cerebral palsy based on their self-initiated movement abilities. People assessed as level I are the most able, and people assessed as level V are dependent on others for all their mobility needs:RETURN TO TEXT