The Innsbruck Sensorimotor Activator and Regulator (ISMAR): Construction of an intraoral appliance to facilitate ingestive functions

Oral sensorimotor therapy is practiced widely with children who have neurom otor impairments, such as cerebral palsy and eating problems. Although impr ovement in ingestive skills can be achieved in the short term (5 months), l ong-term effects (over 12 months) remain to be examined. Interventions with intraoral appliances are used in children with moderate impairments of the oral-motor system and offer an opportunity for long-term treatment. Instea d of the daily oral sensorimotor exercises, which must be provided by a qua lified therapist, the intraoral appliance is worn during the night, so that the "therapy" is initiated and controlled by the child. The purpose of this paper is to describe the appliance: its prescription, f abrication and therapeutic use. A case study illustrates that improvement i n ingestive skills, efficiency of eating, and marked weight gain can be ach ieved.