Economic Impact Of Cerebral Palsy In Australia
Access Economics has released a report on the economic impact of cerebral palsy in Australia. Launched by the Hon. Bill Shorten, MP, the report found that, in 2007, the financial cost of cerebral palsy (CP) in Australia was $1.47 billion or 0.14% of GDP. When the value of lost well-being (disability and premature death) was added, the cost rose a further $2.4 billion.
In 2007, the financial cost of CP was $1.47 billion (0.14% of GDP). Of this:
- 1.03 billion (69.9%) was productivity lost due to lower employment, absenteeism and premature death of Australians with CP;
- 141 million (9.6%) was the DWL from transfers including welfare payments and taxation forgone;
- 131 million (9.0%) was other indirect costs such as direct program services, aides and home modifications and the bringing-forward of funeral costs;
- 129 million (8.8%) was the value of the informal care for people with CP; and
- 40 million (2.8%) was direct health system expenditure.
Additionally, the value of the lost well-being (disability and premature death) was a further $2.4 billion.
In per capita terms, this amounts to a financial cost of $43,431 per person with CP per annum. Including the value of lost well-being, the cost is over $115,000 per person per annum.
Individuals with CP bear 37% of the financial costs, and their families and friends bear a further 6%. Federal government bears around one third (33%) of the financial costs (mainly through taxation revenues forgone and welfare payments). State governments bear under 1% of the costs, while employers bear 5% and the rest of society bears the remaining 19%. If the burden of disease (lost well-being) is included, individuals bear 76% of the costs.
Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped. "Cerebral Palsy: A Guide for Care" at the University of Delaware offers the following guidelines:
Impairment is the correct term to use to define a deviation from normal, such as not being able to make a muscle move or not being able to control an unwanted movement. Disability is the term used to define a restriction in the ability to perform a normal activity of daily living which someone of the same age is able to perform. For example, a three year old child who is not able to walk has a disability because a normal three year old can walk independently. Handicap is the term used to describe a child or adult who, because of the disability, is unable to achieve the normal role in society commensurate with his age and socio-cultural milieu. As an example, a sixteen-year-old who is unable to prepare his own meal or care for his own toileting or hygiene needs is handicapped. On the other hand, a sixteen-year-old who can walk only with the assistance of crutches but who attends a regular school and is fully independent in activities of daily living is disabled but not handicapped. All disabled people are impaired, and all handicapped people are disabled, but a person can be impaired and not necessarily be disabled, and a person can be disabled without being handicapped.
The term "spastic" describes the attribute of spasticity in types of spastic CP. In 1952 a UK charity called The Spastics Society was formed. The term "spastics" was used by the charity as a term for people with CP. The words "spastic" and "spaz" have since been used extensively as a general insult to disabled people, which some see as extremely offensive. They are also frequently used to insult able-bodied people when they seem overly uncoordinated, anxious, or unskilled in sports. The charity changed its name to Scope in 1994.
Misconceptions
A common misconception about those born with Cerebral Palsy is that they are less intelligent than those born without it. Cerebral Palsy is defined as damage to the part of the brain that controls movement; areas of the brain that define a person's intelligence are not affected by CP.
Spastic Cerebral Palsy, the most common form of CP, causes the muscles to be tense, rigid and movements are slow and difficult. This can be misinterpreted as cognitive delay due to difficulty of communication. Individuals with cerebral palsy can have learning difficulties, but sometimes it is the sheer magnitude of problems caused by the underlying brain injury that prevents the individual from expressing what cognitive abilities they do possess.
Public perception
Those with CP are sometimes stigmatized and shunned. This has lessened since the 1950s thanks to public education and to United Cerebral Palsy in the U.S. and similar organizations in other countries. Prior to that time the great majority were often sent to asylums or confined to attics. They were perceived to be the products of incest and partial smothering.
Thomas Galton believed that there was a correlation between physical disability and aptitude, and this attitude remained prevalent as concerned CP until the 1970s.
Only individuals with brain damage in the hippocampus or the frontal cerebral cortex develop mental retardation. While learning difficulties and CP may be associated, it is common for individuals with CP to lead normal lives.
Further Reading
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article on
"Cerebral Palsy"
All material adapted used from Wikipedia is available under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
Wikipedia® itself is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.