Dr. Annette Majnemer

Challenge Doctors should ideally diagnose cerebral palsy (CP) before a baby’s first birthday, according to international guidelines. This way, the child can access early interventions that will help them reach their fullest potential for movement and function. However, the average age for a CP diagnosis in Canada is 18.9 months, and treatment doesn’t always [...]

Challenge When it comes to neurodevelopmental disabilities, early diagnosis is critical so that children can access supports and interventions early on. For cerebral palsy (CP), it is generally recommended that children be diagnosed as early as possible. Using new tools, in many cases this is potentially feasible by primary care physicians before infants with CP [...]

Challenge Taking part in leisure activities is vital in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. However, for children with disabilities, it is often challenging to participate in active physical and other leisure activities such as organized sports, summer camps and art classes. These challenges can lead to feelings of isolation and exclusion. Of course, finding ways to [...]

Challenge It can be challenging for children with disabilities to participate in leisure activities such as summer camps and art classes. Parents often struggle to find programs that are close to where they live, accessible, suitable for their needs and abilities, and in line with their interests. Project Summary The Jooay App (jooay.com) was officially [...]

Challenge More than 80,000 Canadians are living with Cerebral Palsy (CP). Yet, families often feel isolated and are unsure how to find services or where to access the most up-to-date CP-related information. Project Summary The Cerebral Palsy Canada Network (CPCanNet) was created to connect families to information through CP Associations across Canada, by acting as [...]

Challenge There has historically been a lack of population-based information on how cerebral palsy presents in children, including possible risk factors, antecedent causes, functional severity,  and co-morbidities of the condition. To better understand the condition, the Canadian Cerebral Palsy Registry was created in Cycle I. Project Summary The Registry is a confidential, nation-wide collection of [...]

Challenge While cerebral palsy (CP) researchers continue to make meaningful scientific discoveries, there have been barriers to communicating those findings to other scientists, clinicians, families and the public. Project Summary The Cerebral Palsy Demonstration Project has been helping to address this issue with the Knowledge Translation and Exchange (KT) Strategy. The KT team has worked [...]

Challenge While cerebral palsy is the most common physical impairment in pediatrics, there is a lack of data on how the disease presents in children at the population level. Do regional differences exist across the frequency and spectrum of cerebral palsy within Canada? How does the Canadian experience  compare internationally ? What can a population [...]

Challenge While Canadian scientists are leaders in Cerebral Palsy research, effective communication and geography are barriers to creating connections that could lead to meaningful scientific discoveries. Additionally, knowledge of the root causes of CP is at an early stage. The lack of uptake of new evidence-based medical treatments highlights the need for better knowledge dissemination [...]