Many patients with cerebral palsy have such high muscle tone that they do not have full, if any, use of their hands. Silverware has been created to give these people more independence in their everyday lives. By adding grips, using special molds to create handles or by affixing straps or other modifications to the silverware, people who would not have been able to hold a fork on their own are now able to eat by themselves.

Writing aids, such as pens or pencils, are other objects that many people with cerebral palsy have trouble manipulating, since frequently they have difficulties with small objects. Much like adapted silverware, pens and pencils have been adapted with added grips and handles so people with cerebral palsy can have far more success using them.

Wheelchairs are essential for many people with cerebral palsy, but they are not always equipped for a person who cannot either roll the wheels by themselves in a manual chair, or they do not have the coordination to operate a motorized wheelchair with a joystick. Wheelchairs have also been adapted for these people, so that they do not have to have a person with them to operate their wheelchair. While most controls are hand-operated in wheelchairs, these chairs have been designed so that the controls lie behind the head. While there are more than one version of such a wheelchair, a common adaptation functions so that by simply pushing her or her head back against the headrest (where the controls are located) the chair will move forward, and can turn left or right depending on which direction he or she moves their head. Even reversing can be easily accomplished by activating the reverse switch, also located on the headrest.

Communication aids are quite helpful for those whose speech patterns make it hard to conduct any form of in-depth conversation. For these people, it maybe easier to use a communication aid to talk with others. Communication aids vary greatly, and can range from a poster with pictures of things the person might want to a magnetic alphabet board so he or she can spell out what they are trying to convey.

With the fairly recent leaps in technological advancement, computers have made a monumental change in many of the lives of people with cerebral palsy. Not only can they be used as a communication aid by reading aloud typed words on the screen, they can be adapted in such a way that the patient would be able to do most anything they wanted, even design websites. Many of these computers have touch screens, but special mouses and pointers fitted to one’s forehead if they are unable to operate a computer mouse. There are special keyboards with extra-large keys, and keyboard and special software created for people who use only one hand, or even one finger. There is software for people who have little or no control over their movement that helps them to dial and speak on the phone, or to be able to just type the first few letters in a word and have the computer “predict” what the word will be.

All of these things and more have helped people with cerebral palsy to overcome their particular limitations and be able to accomplish everyday things that perhaps they would not have been able to with out the help of personalized mechanical aids.