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Longitudinal changes in feeding among children with cerebral palsy between the ages of 4 and 7 years
Katie J Clancy1, Katherine C Hustad
1University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.
Insights
Children with cerebral palsy (CP) experience significant feeding difficulties, especially those with severe oral motor involvement. These challenges remain largely stable over time, with some fluctuation noted in specific behaviors like coughing.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Speech-Language Pathology
Background:
- Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that affect muscle tone and movement, often impacting oral motor skills.
- Feeding difficulties are a common comorbidity in children with CP, significantly affecting nutrition and quality of life.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between the severity of oral motor involvement and feeding behaviors in children with CP.
- To analyze longitudinal changes in feeding behaviors across different severity groups over a 30-month period.
Main Methods:
- Twenty-three children diagnosed with CP participated in the study.
- Feeding data were collected retrospectively using parent-reported questionnaires at 6-month intervals over 30 months.
- Children were categorized based on the severity of their oral motor involvement.
Main Results:
- Significant differences in feeding variables were found among severity groups, excluding coughing and choking during meals.
- Coughing during meals was the only feeding variable that demonstrated a significant change over the 30-month study period.
- Children with severe oral motor involvement exhibited pervasive feeding difficulties compared to those with mild-moderate or no oral motor involvement.
Conclusions:
- Severe oral motor involvement in children with CP is associated with persistent and significant feeding difficulties.
- While some feeding behaviors may fluctuate, the overall feeding challenges tend to remain stable over time for children with CP.
- Children with CP and mild-moderate or no oral motor involvement experience fewer feeding issues, which also show minimal change over time.
Objective:
To examine differences in feeding among children with cerebral palsy (CP) who varied in the severity of their oral motor involvement; to examine longitudinal change in feeding behaviours for different severity groups.
Method:
Twenty-three children with CP participated (mean age = 4.53 years at the first time point). Feeding data were collected from parent questionnaires at 6 month intervals over 30 months.
Results:
Significant differences were observed among severity groups for all feeding variables except coughing and choking during meals. Only one variable, coughing, showed significant change over time.
Conclusions:
Children with CP who had severe oral-motor involvement had marked and pervasive feeding difficulties which showed some fluctuation with time, but generally were stable. Children with CP who did not have oral motor involvement and those who had mild-moderate involvement also showed little-to-no change over time and had fewer problems than those in the severe group.
