Cerebral palsy or CP is the most common childhood physical disability. It is a permanent physical condition that affects movement. A new international consensus definition has been proposed: "Cerebral palsy (CP) describes a group of disorders of the development of movement and posture, causing activity limitations that are attributed to non-progressive disturbances that occurred in the developing fetal or infant brain. The motor disorders of cerebral palsy are often accompanied by disturbances of sensation, cognition, communication, perception, and/or behavior, and/or by a seizure disorder” (Rosenbaum et al, 2005)". The incidence in developed countries is approximately 2-2.5 per 1000 live births. Incidence has not declined over the last 60 years despite medical advances like electro-fetal monitoring. Cerebral palsy is a non-progressive disorder, however secondary orthopaedic deformities are common for example, hip dislocation and scoliosis of the spine. There is no known cure; medical intervention, Conductive Education (w) has been shown to be helpful. These treatments focus on developing the person's participation in everyday life, and not 'fixing' their impairments. While severity varies widely, cerebral palsy ranks among the most costly congenital conditions to manage.

Cerebral palsy is an "umbrella term" in that it refers to a group of different conditions. It has been suggested that no two people with CP are alike even if they have the same diagnosis. Cerebral palsy is divided into four major classifications to describe the different movement impairments. These classifications reflect the area of brain damaged. The four classifications are: (1) Spastic; (2) Athetoid; (3) Ataxic and (4) Mixed. Spastic cerebral palsy is further classified by topography, dependent on the region of the body affected. These typography classifications include: (1) hemiplegia (one side being more affected than the other); (2) diplegia (the lower body being more affected than the upper body); and (3) quadriplegia (All four limbs affected equally).

Cerebral palsy can occur during pregnancy (~75%), at birth (~5%) or after birth (~15%). 80% of causes are unknown. For the small number where cause is known this can include infections, malnutrition, and significant head injury in very early childhood.