University School of Medicine, and the Pediatric Neurology Cerebral Palsy

The ultimate goal for management of patients with cerebral palsy is to help them grow up to become as independent as possible, learn to make their own choices in life, and pursue their own dreams. Optimal mobility is crucial to achieving independence and is also necessary for better health and quality of life in these patients. This article discusses the treat-ment of spasticity in cerebral palsy, addresses tone management issues in relationship to mobility and physical fitness, and introduces the reader to a comprehensive approach to the management of patients with cerebral palsy. (J Child Neurol 2001;16:10-15). This article is not intended for the practitioner who is in search of a simple algorithm for managing spasticity in the child with cerebral palsy. Neither is it addressed to those physicians who believe that the management of the child with cerebral palsy begins and ends with the treatment of spasticity. The goals of this article are (1) to bring a new per-spective to &dquo;spasticity&dquo; and its effects on mobility in patients with cerebral palsy and (2) to guide the practitioner towar