• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Cerebral Palsy Guidance

Answers and Assistance

877-862-8594phone iconCall
  • Cerebral Palsy
    • Types
    • Symptoms
    • Diagnosis
    • Prognosis
    • Causes
    • Associated Disorders
    • Gross Motor Classification System
    • Treatment
    • Life Expectancy
    • Myths
    • Risk Factors
    • Support Groups
    • Research
    • United Cerebral Palsy Association
    • Birth Injury Overview
  • Living With Cerebral Palsy
    • Daily Communication
    • Physical Fitness
    • Toilet Training Tips
    • Eating and Feeding Tips
    • Wheelchairs and Scooters
    • Walkers, Canes, and Standers
    • Falling Issues
    • Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
    • Conductive Education
    • Tips For Better Sleeping
    • Traveling Tips
    • Sports
    • Bullying
    • Inclusive Playgrounds
    • Respite Care
    • Transitioning to Adulthood
    • Vocational Counseling
    • College Guide
    • Finding a Job
    • Having Children
    • Costs
  • Financial Assistance
    • Government Assistance
    • Special Education Assistance
    • Cerebral Palsy Lawyer
    • Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit
  • Our Blog
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
people joining hands
Home > Cerebral Palsy Lawyer > Cerebral Palsy Life Care Plan > The Cerebral Palsy Life Care Plan – Care Team
Last Updated: May 13, 2022

The Cerebral Palsy Life Care Plan – Care Team

Page Written by Robert Wharton, Esquire
Page Written by Robert Wharton, Esquire

This article has been fact checked by an experienced birth injury attorney. Sources of information for the article are listed at the bottom.

For any content issues please Contact Us.

A life care plan is one of the most beneficial things parents can do for a child with cerebral palsy. An essential part of a life care plan is a care team. A care team for cerebral palsy includes a wide range of experts, caregivers, and supporters.

Building a Life Care Plan for Cerebral Palsy

Finding out your child has been born with a disability is a big hurdle to overcome. It may take you some time to grasp what that means for the future.

As you are coming to terms with your child’s disability, it’s important to plan for the future. A life care plan is a detailed guide that outlines everything your child will need and what it will cost.

Get Matched with a Leading Birth InjuryCerebral Palsy Attorney in Your Area

Get Help Now

The first reason that this is so important is the most obvious: having a plan means providing the best care for your child. The second reason may not seem important initially, but it will be soon.

You need a life plan to prove to a judge or jury that your child needs lifelong care and that the person or health care facility responsible for your child’s disability needs to admit responsibility and provide compensation.

The Legal Care Plan Team

Since there is a legal and financial aspect to your child’s cerebral palsy life care plan, your trusted lawyer or legal team should be one of the first members of the care team. Your birth injury lawyer will understand how to put together a care plan to maximize your ability to prove that your child needs and deserves compensation.

Your lawyer should have the experience needed to make the case with your child’s best interests in mind.

In addition to the birth injury lawyers who advocate for you and your child, you may need other legal specialists on the team. These may include lawyers that specialize in civil rights if your child is ever targeted and those that specialize in education so you can ensure your child gets what they need at school.

You’ll also need an expert who can help you with trusts, estates, and wills to plan for your child’s future if anything happens to you.

The Medical Care Team

The legal team is crucial for planning for your child’s future care and making sure that you can pay for it, but your medical care team is the team that will design and gives the attention they need.

You will need one primary medical professional, such as your family doctor or pediatrician, who will lead the medical team and help guide you to the other specialists you need on the side.

In addition to your primary doctor, your child may need an orthopedist or orthopedic surgeon, physical therapists, rehabilitation medicine specialists, and chiropractors to treat your child’s physical disabilities.

Neurologists can provide diagnoses and care for neurological issues that underlie your child’s impairments.

In addition to basic medical needs, your child may also need care and treatment from numerous specialists such as audiologists, urologists, nutritionists, behavioral specialists, and more.

The Home Care Team

Depending on the degree of disability in your child with cerebral palsy, you may need multiple caregivers in your home. Visits from nurses may be necessary initially to help you learn to care for your child’s medical needs.

Professional home caregivers may be required, depending on whether or not you need to go to work or if your child needs around-the-clock care. If your child’s everyday needs are not medical, you may be able to have a friend or family member take on this caregiver role.

Other professionals who may come to your home and work with your child there include physical and occupational therapists, speech therapists, recreational therapists, home modification experts, adaptive equipment experts and installers, nutritionists, behavioral therapists, psychologists, and even service animals and their trainers.

Education and Community Teams

It’s never too early to start thinking about education and learning for your disabled child. Many children with cerebral palsy have average intelligence, but many struggle with cognitive impairments and learning disabilities.[1]

Being able to socialize and develop along with the same parameters as their peers could also be an issue. Having an education team to evaluate and intervene can help put your child on the right path.

Your education team may include the local school district administrators and special education teachers. It could also include a school social worker and psychologists, paraprofessionals, speech and language pathologists, audiologists, vision specialists, and physical therapists.

Your community team may also overlap with your education team. It could include any local organizations that help families of children with disabilities, your faith-based community, school teams, and extracurricular activity leaders.

Government Services

You may also want to enlist those agencies and individuals in the government that provide services and support to children and families with disabilities:[2]

  • Medicare and Medicaid
  • Department of Developmental Disabilities
  • Office for Civil Rights
  • Administration for Children and Families
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Through organizations like these, you can get developmental screenings, home-based services, federal health insurance, children’s health insurance, resources for caregivers and health care providers, community-based services, long-term care services, housing assistance, food assistance, job training and services, and other resources.

Non-Medical Professionals and Providers

You may not think about these aspects of your child’s care, but your legal team will help you develop a care plan that covers all the bases. That includes working with professionals like accountants, estate planners, financial planners, real estate professionals, life insurance agents, and others to plan for your child’s future.

To make your child’s life productive and comfortable, you will also need to work with service and product providers.

These organizations will provide you with adaptive and assistive equipment, prosthetics, recreation, rehabilitation, travel and transportation, hygiene products, and any other products and services needed for your child to be independent and self-sufficient to the fullest extent.[3]

To give your child the best possible future, you need to plan to ensure that they are as independent, fulfilled, and as comfortable as possible.

You will need to plan more than for another child without disabilities, but by doing so, you can give them the best possible life. Your care team will be a big part of this, so plan for it to include everyone that can help your child be their best self.

Get Matched with a Leading Birth InjuryCerebral Palsy Attorney in Your Area

Get Help Now

References

  1. Cognitive functioning in children with cerebral palsy. (2020, January 9). Wiley Online Library.
    Retrieved from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/dmcn.14463
  2. Financial assistance and support services for people with disabilities. (2019, December 12). USA.gov: The U.S. Government's Official Web Portal | USAGov.
    Retrieved from: https://www.usa.gov/disability-financial-support
  3. Resource guide. (2018, April 14). United Cerebral Palsy.
    Retrieved from: https://ucp.org/resource-guide/
View All References
Page Written by Robert Wharton, Esquire

Page Written by Robert Wharton, Esquire

Robert Wharton is an experienced cerebral palsy and birth injury attorney. His law firm handles medical malpractice cases throughout the United States. He has been selected multiple times as a “Super Lawyers – Rising Star”, and was honored as a “Top 40 Under 40” lawyer by the National Trial Lawyers Association.

See Full Bio

Primary Sidebar

Get Matched with a Leading Birth InjuryCerebral Palsy Attorney in Your Area

Get Help Now
Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral Palsy in Newborns
Cerebral Palsy in Toddlers
Severe Cerebral Palsy
Types of Cerebral Palsy
Ataxic
Atonic (Hypotonic)
Dyskinetic Athetoid
Dystonic
Hypertonic
Mixed
Non-Spastic
Spastic
Spastic Diplegia
Spastic Hemiplegia
Spastic Quadriplegia
Cerebral Palsy Symptoms
How Cerebral Palsy Affects the Brain and Body Parts
Cerebral Palsy Causes
Birth Asphyxia
Prolonged Labor
Delayed C-Section
Forceps Delivery Injuries
Vacuum Extractor Injuries
Nuchal Cord Birth Injuries
Uterine Rupture and Birth Injury
Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
Intraventricular Hemorrhage (IVH)
Failure to Diagnose
Chorioamnionitis
Improper NICU Care
Traumatic Brain Injury
Meconium Aspiration Syndrome
Hydrocephalus
Pitocin Errors
Anesthesia Errors
Infertility Drugs
Cerebral Dysgenesis and Cerebral Palsy
Jaundice
Periventricular Leukomalacia (PVL)
Placental Problems
Epidural Hematoma
Perinatal Stroke
Acquired Brain Injuries and Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral Palsy Associated Disorders
Mobility Issues
Pain
Cognitive Issues
Developmental Delays
Cerebral Palsy and Post-Impairment Syndrome
Seizures
Epilepsy
Malnutrition
Respiratory Health
Hearing Problems
Vision Impairment
Arthritis
Depression
Sleep Issues
Dysphagia
Oral Health Issues
Skin Conditions
Digestive Issues and Health
Emotional Issues
Behavioral Disorders
Autism
Down Syndrome
ADHD
Diabetes
Cerebral Palsy Diagnosis
Imaging Tests
Cerebral Palsy Prognosis
Cerebral Palsy Gross Motor Classification System
Cerebral Palsy Treatment
Cerebral Palsy Specialists
Nutrition Therapy
Chiropractic Care
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Medications
Seizure Medications
Anticonvulsants
Muscle Relaxants
Stem Cell Therapy
Surgery
Aquatic Therapy
Acupuncture Therapy
Botox Treatment
Hippotherapy
Occupational Therapy
Speech Therapy
Massage Therapy
Physical Therapy
Homeopathy
Yoga
Pilates
Intensive Suit Therapy
Medical Marijuana
Functional Electrical Stimulation
Osteopathic Manipulation
Anat Baniel Method and NeuroMovement
Pet Therapy
Cerebral Palsy Cure
Cerebral Palsy Life Expectancy
Cerebral Palsy Risk Factors
High-Risk Pregnancy
Risk Factor Causal Pathways
Premature Birth
Birth Complications
Post-term Pregnancy
Intrauterine Growth Restriction
Maternal and Fetal Infections
Blood Type Incompatibility
Multiple Births
Parental Habits and Health
Cerebral Palsy Support Groups and Organizations
Cerebral Palsy Research
Cerebral Palsy History
Facts and Statistics
Prevalence and Incidence
Cerebral Palsy Myths
Cerebral Palsy Prevention
Cerebral Palsy Misdiagnosis
United Cerebral Palsy Association
Living With Cerebral Palsy
Costs
Orthopedic Health
Neurological Health
Daily Communication
Physical Fitness
Abuse
Toilet Training Tips
Eating and Feeding Tips
Wheelchairs and Scooters
Wheelchair-accessible Vans
Walkers, Canes, and Standers
Adaptive Bikes
Affordable Transportation
Assistive Technology
Falling Issues
Home Modifications
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
Conductive Education
Tips For Better Sleeping
Traveling Tips
Sports
Bullying
Inclusive Playgrounds
Respite Care
Faith
Engaging in the Arts
Transitioning to Adulthood
LGBT
Vocational Counseling
College Guide
Teacher Tips for Inclusive Classrooms
Finding a Job
Having Children
Veterans
Fostering or Adopting a Child with CP
Enjoying the Great Outdoors
Emergency Preparedness
Financial Assistance
Government Assistance
Title V MCH Benefits
Special Education Assistance
Cerebral Palsy Lawyer
Alabama
Huntsville
Alaska
Anchorage
Arizona
Phoenix
Arkansas
Little Rock
California
Los Angeles
Colorado
Denver
Connecticut
Bridgeport
Delaware
Wilmington
Florida
Jacksonville
Georgia
Atlanta
Hawaii
Honolulu
Idaho
Boise
Illinois
Chicago
Indiana
Indianapolis
Iowa
Des Moines
Kansas
Wichita
Kentucky
Louisville
Louisiana
New Orleans
Maine
Portland, Maine
Maryland
Baltimore
Massachusetts
Boston
Michigan
Detroit
Minnesota
Minneapolis
Mississippi
Jackson
Missouri
Kansas City
Montana
Billings
Nebraska
Omaha
Nevada
Las Vegas
New Hampshire
Manchester
New Jersey
Newark
New Mexico
Albuquerque
New York
New York City
North Carolina
Charlotte
North Dakota
Fargo
Ohio
Columbus
Oklahoma
Oklahoma City
Oregon
Portland
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia
Rhode Island
Providence
South Carolina
Columbia
South Dakota
Sioux Falls
Tennessee
Nashville
Texas
Houston
Utah
Salt Lake City
Vermont
Burlington
Virginia
Virginia Beach
Washington
Seattle
West Virginia
Charleston
Wisconsin
Milwaukee
Wyoming
Cheyenne
Medical Malpractice
Claim for Compensation
Lawsuit
Settlement
Statute of Limitations
Life Care Plan
Goals
Evaluation
Diagnosis
Care Team
Record Keeping and Documents
Birth Injury
Treatment
Causes
Failure to Monitor
Symptoms
Prognosis
Lawyer
Settlement
Lawsuit
Claim for Compensation
Infant Skull Fracture
Treatment
Symptoms
Causes
Prognosis
Lawyer
Settlement
Lawsuit
Claim for Compensation
Infant Brain Damage
Prognosis
Symptoms
Causes
Treatment
Lawyer
Lawsuit
Claim for Compensation
Settlement
Infant Wrongful Death
Causes
Intrauterine Fetal Demise (Stillbirth)
Claim for Compensation
Lawyer
Settlement
Lawsuit
Grieving the Loss of a Baby
Erb’s Palsy
Symptoms
Prognosis
Treatment
Causes
Lawyer
Settlement
Lawsuit
Claim for Compensation
Brachial Plexus Injury
Causes
Prognosis
Symptoms
Treatment
Lawyer
Lawsuit
Settlement
Claim for Compensation
Klumpke’s Palsy
Lawyer
Lawsuit

© 2023 CerebralPalsyGuidance.com · Privacy Policy · Disclaimer

The information provided by CerebralPalsyGuidance.com is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

  • Cerebral Palsy
  • Living With Cerebral Palsy
  • Financial Assistance
  • Our Blog
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
210 W. Division St. Syracuse, NY 13204

We provide nationwide assistance

Facebook Twitter
Learn About Our Editorial Guidelines