Perceptive defects

Abstract

The currently accepted international definition considers cerebral palsy (CP) predominantly as a posture and movement disorder (Mac Keith et al. 1959; Bax, 1964; Mutch et al. 1992; Behrman et al. 1998; Aicardi and Bax, 1998; Dan and Cheron, 2004; Bax et al. 2005), unacceptably neglecting the influence of perceptive disorders as well as cognitive, communicative and emotional problems on the nature of the defect and on the natural history of each clinical form (Ferrari, 1990). Although we are aware that it is methodologically incorrect to analyze CP from a single point of view (see chapter 11), on this occasion we would like to deal with this complex problem mainly from the perceptive one. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Milan.