Tracking Methods for Cerebral Palsy

For Everyone

What to know

  • CDC tracks the number and characteristics of 4- and 8-year-old children with cerebral palsy (CP) over time.
  • CDC collects data to support people with CP and their families.
Boy with CP smiles while propped up in a chair.

Why data are being collected

By tracking the number of children diagnosed with CP over time and describing the characteristics of those children, we are better able to do the following:

  • Help identify causes and risk factors of CP
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of prevention efforts
  • Raise awareness of the signs and symptoms
  • Help families and communities plan for services

What CDC is doing

CDC has been studying CP since the early 1980s. CDC tracks the number and characteristics of children with CP living in several diverse communities across the United States who participate in CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network.

Communities can use CDC's information on the number and characteristics of children with CP, such as subtype, walking ability, and co-occurring conditions to plan for services, inform decision makers, and promote full participation in community and family life. Information about the co-occurrence of CP and other conditions, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), can also help direct research into shared risk factors and causes.

Below is a brief overview of the programs that CDC has or continues to support to help us learn more about the number and characteristics of children with CP in the United States.

CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network

CDC conducted population-based surveillance for CP from 2002-2010,123 and re-established surveillance with updated methodology in 2023.4 Surveillance activities are currently conducted within communities at 5 sites in Georgia, Minnesota, Missouri, Tennessee and Utah.

Data among children aged 4- and 8-years are collected to:

  • Understand the prevalence of CP;
  • Describe characteristics including co-occurring conditions, subtypes, walking ability, and age at earliest diagnosis.

Information can be used to inform early intervention efforts and guide resource allocation to ensure that children with CP receive services and supports necessary to thrive.

Keep Reading Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network

Metropolitan Atlanta Developmental Disabilities Surveillance Program (MADDSP)

CDC began looking at how many children in metropolitan Atlanta had CP in the mid-1980s. This project was done as part of the Metropolitan Atlanta Developmental Disabilities Study (MADDS), which studied how common certain disabilities were in 10-year-old children.56This study served as the basis for the creation of the Metropolitan Atlanta Developmental Disabilities Surveillance Program (MADDSP).

MADDSP was established in 1991 to identify children with four disabilities (CP, hearing loss, intellectual disability, and vision impairment). A fifth disability, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), was added in 1996. MADDSP currently conducts surveillance for ASD among 4-, 8- and 16-year-old children and CP among 4- and 8-year-old children living in the metropolitan Atlanta area. This program has contributed a wealth of information on the characteristics, risk factors, costs, and implications of developmental disabilities, including CP.

Keep Reading Metropolitan Atlanta Developmental Disabilities Surveillance Program (MADDSP)
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Content Source:
National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
  1. Kirby RS, Wingate MS, Van Naarden Braun K, et al. Prevalence and functioning of children with cerebral palsy in four areas of the United States in 2006: a report from the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network. Res Dev Disabil. 2011;32(2):462-469.
  2. Christensen D, Van Naarden Braun K, Doernberg NS, et al. Prevalence of cerebral palsy, co-occurring autism spectrum disorders, and motor functioning - Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, USA, 2008. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2014;56(1):59-65.
  3. Durkin MS, Benedict RE, Christensen D, et al. Prevalence of Cerebral Palsy among 8-Year-Old Children in 2010 and Preliminary Evidence of Trends in Its Relationship to Low Birthweight. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2016;30(5):496-510.
  4. Patrick ME, Shaw KA, Claridy M, et. al. Prevalence of Cerebral Palsy Among Children Aged 4 and 8 Years in 5 US Communities in 2022. Pediatrics Open Science. 2026;2 (2):1–9.
  5. Yeargin-Allsopp M, Murphy CC, Oakley GP, Sikes RK. A multiple-source method for studying the prevalence of developmental disabilities in children: the Metropolitan Atlanta Developmental Disabilities Study [published correction appears in Pediatrics 1992 Dec;90(6):1001]. Pediatrics. 1992;89(4 Pt 1):624-630.
  6. 6. Murphy C, Yeargin-Allsopp M, Decouflé P, Drews C. Prevalence of cerebral palsy among ten-year-old children in metropolitan Atlanta, 1985 through 1987. J Pediatr. 1993 Nov;123(5):S13-20.