Esmaeili L, Safaeyan S, Saber-Moghadam R, Gholamiyan Arefi M. Investigating Feeding Problems and Oral Motor Skills in Children With Cerebral Palsy. Iranian Rehabilitation Journal 2024; 22 (2) :205-216
URL:
http://irj.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-1942-en.html
1- Department of Speech Therapy, School of Paramedical and Rehabilitation Sciences, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
2- Department of Speech Therapy, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran.
Abstract: (906 Views)
Objectives: Cerebral palsy (CP) can cause motor, sensory, cognitive, and communicative problems and poor feeding performances in children. Feeding problems could be life-threatening and negatively affect cognitive and physical growth. This study investigates the frequency of response to oral motor skills, the frequency and severity of feeding problems, and the relationship between age and oral motor skills with feeding problems in children with CP aged 2 to 7 years.
Methods: This was an observational and cross-sectional study. The participants were 60 children (26 girls and 34 boys) with CP with a mean age of 4.76±1.71 years. The screening tool for eating problems and oral motor assessment scale assessed participants’ feeding and oral motor skills. The Spearman test determined the correlation between age and oral motor dysfunctions with feeding problems.
Results: The present study revealed that 80% of participants indicated feeding problems in the screening tool of the eating problems test. Problems with feeding skills (51.5%) were the most frequent. Furthermore, the most frequent response of participants to “closing the lips while feeding with a spoon” was 46.7%, and “sucking with straw,” equaled 55.0%,” which was passive. For other items, the most frequent response of the examinees was “functional.” Finally, the results showed no significant correlation (P<0.05) between age and mean scores of frequency and severity of feeding problems. A significant negative correlation was found between mean scores of oral motor skill with frequency (P<0.001, r=-0.476) and severity (P=0.001, r=-0.424) of feeding problems.
Discussion: The majority of children with CP have problems with feeding and oral motor skills. Some skills in the fields of feeding and oral motor should be noticed more by speech-language pathologists and included in their therapeutic program, especially “feeding skills,” “closing the lips while feeding with a spoon,” and “sucking with straw.”
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● A total of 80% of 2 to 7-year-old children with cerebral palsy (CP) showed eating problems.
● The most frequent response of children with CP to oral motor skills test was related to the “functional” item, showing slightly compromised oral motor performance.
● A significant relationship was between oral motor skills and the frequency and severity of feeding problems; however, no relationship existed between participants’ age and the frequency and severity of feeding problems.
Plain Language Summary
The present study investigated the relationship between age and oral motor skills with feeding problems in 2- to 7-year-old children with cerebral palsy. This subject was selected for two reasons: 1) The high prevalence of feeding problems in these children, and 2) The effect of feeding problems on physical and cognitive growth. This study found several problems in oral motor skills related to eating in cerebral palsy children that negatively impacted feeding skills. It was concluded that parents and clinicians should be aware of the adverse effects of oral motor problems on feeding and, consequently, different aspects of their growth, primarily physical and cognitive ones, and follow necessary therapeutic actions.
Article type:
Original Research Articles |
Subject:
Speech therapy Received: 2023/04/5 | Accepted: 2023/11/25 | Published: 2024/06/1
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