Cognitive and academic profiles in children with cerebral palsy: A narrative review

Considerable effort has recently been made to improve the accurate diagnosis of cerebral palsy (CP) in childhood and to establish early intervention aiming to improve functional outcome. Besides the visible motor impairments, cognitive abilities are frequently affected but might remain unrecognised in children with mild forms. On the other hand, some severely disabled children with presumed intellectual disabilities might demonstrate normal-range reasoning capacities. Most studies on this topic have emphasized a variety of cognitive profiles (cognitive level) related to the type of cerebral palsy and the underlying brain lesions (biological level). However, little is known at the behavioural level, namely learning skills and educational achievement