Early palsy screening could help offset issues

Early screening of children with cerebral palsy would help prevent orthopaedic problems that can cause severe pain and affect quality of life, a conference in Cork heard yesterday.

Delegates attending the conference, the first of its kind to focus specifically on paediatric spasticity — an abnormal increase in muscle tone that causes exaggerated reflex jerks — and orthopaedic management, were told Enable Ireland Cork, a disability services provider, already operates such a programme to the benefit of children it treats.

Conor Coughlan, 11, from Ballinhassig, Co Cork, who attended the conference, bore testimony to this.

Born with a rare condition called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia — which means he is of short stature, has scoliosis (or curvature of the spine) coxa vara hips and clubbed feet — he was not officially diagnosed until age five.

Since then, he has attended Enable Ireland Cork, where he has received early intervention including physiotherapy and crania sacral therapy to help maximise his independence and movement. Staff also monitor his scoliosis. Conor’s mother, Mary, feels that the early detection and continued surveillance of his spine was critical to ensuring that he gets the right care and interventions for his conditions.

“He is into hurling and football like other boys his age and, despite the fact that he doesn’t have great mobility, he gets around,” Mary said.

At the conference, Enable Ireland and Straight Ahead, a charity that provides free surgery for children with complex orthopaedic condition, called for the introduction of a national hip screening protocol for all children with cerebral palsy, a congential disorder that causes physical disability.

“We believe a programme like ours should be emulated and rolled out across the country,” said Gillian O’Dwyer, physiotherapy manager with Enable Ireland Cork.

“The protocol ultimately aims to improve the quality of life of children and young people in Ireland with Cerebral Palsy. This is a cost neutral initiative since it requires no further funding to co-ordinate nationally. It simply needs the relevant clinicians to work together according to the protocol.”

Enable Ireland Cork Children’s Services provides orthopaedic services to 520 children who have complex physical disabilities.

- For more information, see www.enableireland.ie.