title: Oral-motor skills following sensorimotor therapy in two groups of moderately dysphagic children with cerebral palsy: aspiration vs nonaspiration.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of oral sensorimotor treatment on oral-motor skills and measures of growth in moderately eating impaired children with cerebral palsy who were stratified by state of aspiration/nonaspiration. Twenty-seven children aged 2.5-10.0 years participated in this study (aspiration: n = 7, nonaspiration: n = 20). Weight and skinfold measures were taken. Children were observed at lunch time and six domains of feeding were examined: spoon feeding, biting, chewing, cup drinking, straw drinking, swallowing, and drooling. Children underwent 10 weeks of control and 10 weeks of sensorimotor treatment, 5-7 minutes/day, 5 days/week. Treatment compliance for the entire group was 67%. Children who aspirated had significantly poorer oral-motor skills in spoon feeding, biting, chewing, and swallowing than children who did not aspirate. There was significant improvement in eating: spoon feeding (fewer abnormal behaviors, p < 0.03), chewing (more normal behaviors, p < 0.003), and swallowing (more normal behaviors, p < 0.008). There were no significant changes in drinking skills. Children as a group maintained their pretreatment weight-age percentile but did not show any catch-up growth. Children showed adequate energy reserves as measured by skinfold thicknesses. Improvement in oral-motor skills may help these children to ingest food more competently (i.e., less spillage). However, their weight remains at the lowest level of age norms.
authors.affiliation: School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: E G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Gisel
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Applegate-Ferrante
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Benson
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Bosma
mesh_terms: D001835:Body Weight; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003679:Deglutition; D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D004326:Drinking; D004435:Eating; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000209:etiology*; D006128:Growth; D006801:Humans; D007830:Larynx; D008046:Lip / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008409:Mastication; D009048:Motor Skills; D009055:Mouth / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012798:Sialorrhea / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D012885:Skinfold Thickness; D014059:Tongue / Q000503:physiopathology; D014132:Trachea