ORAL MOTOR PATTERNS DURING FEEDING IN SEVERELY PHYSICALLY DISABLED-CHILDREN

Oral motor patterns during feeding were investigated in 55 patients wi th severe physical disability. Five patients showed a pattern resembli ng sucking. Twenty-nine exhibited an up-and-dawn movement of the jaw a nd protrusion of the tongue. Among these, the mouth opened when the fo od entered and the Lips closed before swallowing in 20 patients; the m outh was constantly open in nine, Eight bad an up-and-down movement of the jaw without protrusion of the tongue. These patterns were frequen tly seen in patients with spastic tetraplegia caused by neonatal asphy xia and compensated for oral motor impairment. Sixteen patients showed lateral movement of the jaw at some time during feeding; in these pat ients the texture of the food was more coarse than in those with other patterns. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.