Drooling Reduction with Oral Motor Exercises Among Cerebral Palsied Children at the National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Abstract

Abstract
Background: Cerebral palsy (CP), with a frequency of 1.22/ 1000 live births, is the commonest cause of motor deficiency and results in a number of issues. Drooling is one highly prevalent problem occurring due to dysfunction of oral-motor mechanisms and altered intraoral sensitivity. In spite of a number of management options few including oral motor exercises (OME) have been evaluated. Insufficient evidence regarding efficacy of OME, prompted us to conduct this study.

Objective: To analyze the effectiveness of oral motor exercises (OME) to reduce drooling in Cerebral Palsied children.

Methodology: This Quasi experimental study with purposive sampling was conducted at Speech-Language Therapy Department of National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, Islamabad over a period of six months. N = 15 CP cases with drooling, of either gender, aged 4 to 15 years underwent OME for drooling control. Severity and frequency of drooling was assessed on Thomas-Stonell and Greenberg scale before intervention and post-intervention at two occasions. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS 21.

Results: A significant reduction in drooling (p value of < 0.05) occurred with reduction in the drooling severity from a mean score of 3.86 + 0.91 at start of treatment to 3.53 + 1.06 at completion of 25 sessions and 2.73 + 0.96 at completion of 50 sessions following OME. Also the drooling frequency reduced from a mean value of 3.88 + 0.43 to 3.60 + 0.50 at completion of 25 sessions and 2.28 +.54 at completion of 50 sessions.

Conclusion: OME results in significant decrease in drooling in CP patients.