Audrey, 35, dx cp past March

AudreyGardner

Hi! My name is Audrey Gardner! I am very glad to read that I am not the only adult recently diagnosed with cp.
My mom first started noticing my developmental delays when I was a toddler. In my first year of life,. She noticed that I reached with one hand and that my hand shook as I tried to feed myself; By the time thar I was 2, she had noticed that I had never crawled. I would juat scoot and when I got frustrated I would roll. Until I was 12, my speech was only recognisable by my mom. I could not print until I was 9. By the age of 6, i was diagnosed with peti mal epilepsy, right hemia atrophy, left hemia aprehesis and dysgraphia and later with autism.

 After 10 years of st, ot, and pt, I could finally cut paper, string beads, bathe and dress myself, climb a ladder and stairs and skip, so.I was released from therapy. I wore a hand brace, because I had strained my thumb and sprained my wrist Throughout the rest of my education, I had to remain in a learning center at a learning disabled school and take medicine for seizures and anxiety.

When I was in my 20s, I sprained both of my knees and developed tendonitis and schizoaffective disorder. In my early to mid 30s, I developed lumbar spondylosis, cervical ddd, carpal tunnel, plantar fascitis and diffused accelerated cerebral atrophy. During this time, I returned to pt, ot and st. I walk with a rollator and air cast boot. I sleep in hand and foot braces. I am on Effexor XR, Gabaoentin, Vistaril, Meloxicam, Tumeric and Low Dose Aspirin. I use rest, ice, exercise, bathroom bars and a grabber to get around my apartment. 

What have your experiences been?
Best regards!

Ami2301

Hi @AudreyGardner
Welcome to the community! Thank you for sharing this with us! I'm sure many members of the community including @Chloe_Scope and @Richard_Scope will be more than happy to share their experiences! Check out the list of discussions as you may be interested in many of the message boards such as Disabled people, Autism, Cerebal Palsy and others! Please let us know if there is anything that we can help you with!

Chloe_Alumni

Hi @AudreyGardner and a warm welcome to the community! I too have cerebral palsy but was diagnosed at the after of 8 (which is quite late in the grand scheme of things). My mum always knew something was wrong and I never met milestones physically. I'm 20 years old and have walked with a stick for the past 5 years and have worn AFO splints on and off my whole life (mainly on!). I currently wear two

Richard_Scope

Hi @AudreyGardner
Good to meet you and I'm glad you have joined our community. I have Cerebral Palsy and use a wheelchair. I was diagnosed at the age of 3 with spastic quadriplegia. I have had 26 surgeries in total to help deal with the various effects of CP.
If you would like a chat, let me know.