ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the needs and resources available for a hitherto much neglected group, viewed largely from a UK perspective. The first part of the chapter focuses on two important congenital neurological conditions, cerebral palsy and spina bifida. Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common cause of severe disability among school leavers. Spina bifida (SB), often associated with hydrocephalus, is a less frequent cause of severe physical disability since the advent of prenatal screening and folate supplementation (Wald & Bower, 1995) and since less aggressive surgical management has been used (Lorber & Salfield, 1981). However, some children are still born with varying degrees of impairment and the nature and the pattern of those produced by SB are very different from those produced by CP.
