Levels of Disability

Have you ever heard someone referred to as having “mild spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy” or “severe athetoid cerebral palsy”? Mild, and severe, along with the word moderate are terms used to describe the level of involvement cerebral palsy as well as what sort of limits it might impose on activities of daily living (ADLs).

Mild: people with mild cerebral palsy need no special treatment. They have no speech problems, they do most if not all ADLs independently. Ambulation (walking) is accomplished with out the aid of durable medical equipment (DME).

Moderate: people with moderate cerebral palsy need various forms of treatment since they may not be able to perform all ADLs independently. Persons with moderate cerebral palsy may have speech problems, and ambulation is accomplished with crutches, walkers or wheelchairs.

Severe: people with severe cerebral palsy need professional care, so much so that their ability to live independently, perform ADLs, and ambulate is remote.

This page was last updated 08/25/00