2016 Volume 37 Issue 2 Pages 134-141
This study examined the relationship between rinsing the mouth in children with autism spectrum disorder and developmental age. The subjects were 50 children aged 3–6 years old with autism spectrum disorder. Five categories of children’s mouth-rinsing ability were evaluated based on behavioral observations of mouth-rinsing. Acquisition of mouth-rinsing ability was further categorized into “no acquisition”, “moderate acquisition”, and “acquisition”. Relationships between mouth-rinsing ability and chronological age as well as developmental age were first analyzed. The cutoff value of optimal developmental age was calculated in order to distinguish the acquisition stage of mouth-rinsing.
A total of 14％ of children were “unable to rinse the mouth at all”, 18％ were “able to bring a cup to the mouth”, 10％ were “able to spit water from the mouth”, 34％ were “able to spit after holding water in the mouth”, and 24％ were “able to spit after holding and moving the water around the mouth”. There were positive correlations between these mouth-rinsing competencies and developmental age, suggesting that basic mouth-rinsing behavior had an acquisition stage that was associated with developmental age. In addition, the best cutoff value between “no acquisition” and “moderate acquisition” was 2 years 0 months and the best cutoff value between “moderate acquisition” and “acquisition” was 2 years 6 months. These results indicate that it is effective to begin to practice spitting water at a developmental age of 2 years 0 months, and to begin to practice moving the cheeks at a developmental age of 2 years 6 months.
