It is important to have the right team of medical and health professionals to guide your child or young person with CP through their life stage changes. As they develop and grow, you will find their support team expands to include non-healthcare professionals, such as teachers, teacher aids and guidance officers. 

You and your child or young person need to get to know each member of the team where possible, so you can build a trusted relationship, develop good communication and share information. That way, they can understand your requirements and develop effective care plans for different settings, such as home, school and social situations.

The role of your team is to support your child’s optimal health needs and expanding independence. Some of the areas where the team can support them include:

• muscles, movement and mobility
• neurological issues
• gastrointestinal issues
• nutrition
• respiratory issues
• cognition and sensory issues
• skin conditions
• oral and dental health
• vision and hearing
• mental health
• communication

The teenage years are a time of great change for a young person with CP: moving from high school to life after school, from parental care to independent control, and from the child to adult health systems, all in the space of a few short years.

The need to start planning is very important. Talk to your team early on about developing strategies to navigate all those changes in a way that best supports the young person with CP. For example, you may need to set up a transfer of health information from your young person’s paediatrician to a GP or ask for support to plan life after school finishes.

Remember that as a family member or carer of a child or young person with CP, it is really important to take care of your own health and wellbeing. Your GP is a great resource to help you build and maintain good physical and mental health.

Alongside the support provided by your team, there are health and family supports available to parents and carers of children and young people with CP. These include financial support, through organisations such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), respite services, behaviour support, and parent and carer-specific programs.

Some of this information is provided and produced courtesy of The Future Thinking Project, Ability WA.