"Cerebral" refers to the brain and "palsy" to muscle weakness/poor control. Cerebral palsy is generally caused by an injury to the brain that occurs during pregnancy, delivery, or after birth. Cerebral palsy is a condition and not a disease. It is not communicable and cannot be passed from one person to another.

In general, cerebral palsy impacts the ability of a person to control their muscles. A person may experience a combination of three main types of cerebral palsy: spastic, muscles that are stiff and difficult to move, athetoid, an involuntary and uncontrolled movement of the muscles, or ataxic which is an impaired sense of balance and depth perception. Because of this, cerebral palsy may impact an individual's ability walk or talk. People with cerebral palsy can also experience hearing and sight problems as well as seizures and mental retardation. According to the United Cerebral Palsy association, approximately 500,000 Americans have some degree of cerebral palsy. Currently there are many therapies available to help families and individuals manage the effects of cerebral palsy. These may include physical and speech therapies, medical intervention, and specially adapted education curriculums.

Adapted from the United Cerebral Palsy web site (February 7, 2000).
http://www.ucpa.org/index.cfm