Life expectancy of a teen with cerebal palsy

[hutcthrnn2]

I am wondering what the life expectancy of a teen with cerebal palsy is.  This young man is 16 and has scoliosis of the spine also. He was born prematurely and has had it since birth.

[itsmethere]

I am a 25 year old young woman with cerebral palsy who was born prematurely as well and probably has her cerebral palsy as a result of complications of premature birth.  I'd assume the young man has spastic diplegia, the most common type of CP following premature birth.  Just curious, is the damage to his brain called periventricular leukomalacia (PVL)?

From what I know (I am not a medical person so take my opinion with a grain of salt), people with spastic diplegia have normal life expectancy.  They may, however, deteriorate physically as they age.  So it might get progressively harder for him to walk as he ages.  So if he walks now, he might end up with crutches or in a wheel chair when he is old.  That's pretty much all I know on the issue.

[crabby70]

My daughter will be 12 soon...I was told a normal life expectancy...

[pamtera]

People with CP have a normal life expectancy. Aging does cause more complications with brittle bones and poor posture though (leading to stress on the heart). It depends how severe the CP is. I have read that it takes someone with CP 5 times more energy to walk or run than it does for someone without CP.

I have hemiplegia CP, born premature and lacking oxygen. I'm 26 and have two children, I live a normal life, but with back, hip and foot pain on my left side, weak muscles and unable to straighten my arm and leg.