Oral-motor skills following sensorimotor intervention in the moderately eating-impaired child with cerebral palsy.

The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of oral sensorimotor treatment in moderately eating-impaired children with cerebral palsy and to examine the effects of treatment on measures of growth. Six domains of feeding were examined in 35 children 4.3-13.3 years of age. Weight and skinfold measures were taken. Children were observed at lunch time, and spoon-feeding, biting, chewing, cup drinking, straw drinking, swallowing, and drooling were examined. Children underwent 20 weeks of sensorimotor treatment, 5-7 min/day, 5 days/week. Limited improvement was observed in the following eating domains: spoon-feeding, biting, and chewing, but not in drinking. Children as a group maintained the pretreatment weight-age percentile. To meet the increasing growth demands of the teenage years, oral-motor therapy may need to be combined with oral caloric supplementation.