2017 Volume 21 Issue 3 Pages 200-208
Aims: The association between tongue thrusting during swallowing and gross motor, cognitive, and linguistic development in children with Down syndrome (DS) is unknown. In the present study, we aimed to clarify this relationship.
Subjects and Method: We enrolled 38 children with DS between the ages of 1 and 9 years. The feeding scenes of early weaning food (food mashed to potage or paste) and medium-term weaning food (food soft enough to mash between the tongue and the palate) were video recorded, and the frequency of tongue thrusting during swallowing and whether the tongue moved up and down was evaluated. In addition, gross motor development was evaluated by Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM)-66, while cognitive and linguistic development were evaluated by the Kyoto Scale of Psychological Development 2001, and their association with the frequency of tongue thrusting during swallowing and up-and-down tongue movement was investigated.
Results and Discussion: The correlation between the frequency of tongue thrusting during swallowing early and medium-term weaning food and age, total points on GMFM-66, and the developmental age of the Kyoto Scale of Psychological Development 2001 was assessed. Children who rarely thrust their tongue during swallowing acquired higher scores on GMFM-66 than those who often thrust their tongue, and most these children could crawl on all fours and sit on a bench. In addition, most of these children had acquired skills of up-and-down tongue movement. However, the developmental age of the Kyoto Scale of Psychological Development 2001 was observed to be similar between the children who rarely thrust their tongue during swallowing and those who often thrust their tongue.
Conclusion: Tongue thrusting during swallowing in children with DS was considered to be associated with gross motor skills.
