NICE defines cerebral palsy (CP) as 'an umbrella term that encompasses a group of permanent movement and posture disorders that limit activity'. They go on to say that the underlying cause is an acquired pathology within the developing brain, during the prenatal, neonatal or early infant period and that the impaired movement associated with CP results from centrally-mediated abnormal muscle tone which leads (most commonly) to spasticity. 1
This is a companion discussion topic for the original article at https://patient.info/doctor/paediatrics/cerebral-palsy-pro