We will shout as loudly as possible, as a national campaign, for joined-up, comprehensive medical services for adults with Cerebral Palsy. These are articulated clearly by the NICE guidelines, and the recommendations of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cerebral Palsy.
In the meantime, and in any case, you need to be your own strongest advocate, when meeting your GP or other medical professional. Here is some information that can be useful to you when having that conversation.
What is Diagnostic Overshadowing?
Diagnostic overshadowing occurs when a healthcare professional assumes that a patient’s presenting condition is due to their disability rather than fully exploring the causes of the patient’s symptoms. For example, it may be assumed that a patient’s hip pain is due to muscle tone and spasm related to their Cerebral Palsy but this may also be the consequence of joint arthritis which would require further investigation.
Sometimes people living with CP presume that the pain they are experiencing is due to their Cerebral Palsy and therefore do not reach out to health professionals for further advice. The pain they are experiencing could be because there may be something else going on that needs investigating. Any new or on-going pain should be investigated especially if it impairs your function.
Diagnostic overshadowing can lead to late diagnosis and inadequate treatment.