Sensory Therapy for Chewing in Children

Effectiveness of Whole-Body Sensory Integration Therapy on Chewing Function and Feeding Behaviors in Children With Chewing Disorders

Brief Summary

The goal of this study is to learn if whole-body sensory integration therapy can improve chewing skills and mealtime behaviors in children with chewing difficulties. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Does the therapy help children chew food better?

Does it make mealtimes shorter and more efficient?

Participants will:

Attend individual sensory integration therapy sessions for 60 minutes, three times a week for 4 weeks

Take part in exercises such as vibration, crawling through a tunnel, therapeutic brushing, joint and oral exercises, and sensory activities

Be observed for chewing performance and report meal duration and daily meal frequency before and after the therapy

Researchers will compare the results from before and after the therapy to see if chewing skills and feeding behaviors improve.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Chewing Difficulties in Children; Feeding Behavior Challenges; Oral-motor Dysfunction; Impaired Chewing Function
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Sensory integration therapy

Detailed Description

Detailed Description

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of whole-body sensory integration therapy on chewing function, meal duration, and feeding behaviors in children with chewing difficulties. Chewing difficulties in children can arise from developmental disorders, such as cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder, or other neuromotor impairments. These difficulties can negatively affect nutritional intake, growth, and overall quality of life.

This study will include 31 children aged between 3 and 12 years who exhibit observable challenges in chewing or feeding. Participants will be randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group. The intervention group will receive whole-body sensory integration therapy three times per week for 4 weeks. Each therapy session will last approximately 60 minutes and include activities designed to enhance oral-motor function, chewing skills, body coordination, balance, and sensory processing. Examples of therapy activities include:

Chewing exercises using therapy tools (e.g., chewing sticks, textured foods)

Oral-motor exercises to strengthen lips, tongue, and jaw muscles

Proprioceptive and vestibular activities such as crawling, climbing, balancing, and swinging

Play-based tasks that integrate sensory input with functional feeding activities

Parents or caregivers will be guided to support therapy exercises at home to reinforce skill acquisition.

Outcome measures will be collected at baseline and after the 4-week intervention. The primary outcome is improvement in chewing function, assessed using standardized tools suitable for pediatric populations. Secondary outcomes include changes in meal duration, frequency of meals, and overall feeding behaviors.

It is hypothesized that children receiving whole-body sensory integration therapy will demonstrate significant improvements in chewing efficiency, reduced meal times, and enhanced feeding behaviors compared to the control group. This study aims to provide evidence for the inclusion of sensory integration therapy as a clinical intervention to support feeding skills in children with chewing difficulties.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 31
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey (Türkiye)
  • Meram
    • Konya, Meram, Turkey (Türkiye), 40336
      • Nezahat Keleşoğlu Faculty of Health Sciences

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Children with chewing difficulties aged around 5 years (approx. 55-69 months, based on mean ± SD)
• Medically stable and able to participate in feeding sessions
• Parental consent obtained

Exclusion Criteria:

• Children with severe medical conditions or genetic syndromes affecting feeding
• Children receiving other intensive feeding or sensory interventions during the study
• Inability to sit or participate in the evaluation sessions

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Sensory integration therapy; Sensory integration therapy (SIT) was delivered individually in a play-based format, three times per week for four weeks, totaling 12 sessions. Each session lasted 60 minutes, and parents were instructed to reinforce the activities at home as homework. All interventions were administered one-on-one by an experienced therapist in a therapy room. The therapist who administered the intervention did not take part in the evaluation process; therefore, the study was conducted in a single-blind manner. Before the intervention, a trust-based relationship was established with the children, and sensory activities were performed within a play context. The interventions were not limited to oral activities but aimed to support overall sensory development [8]. Based on this program, sensory integration procedures were applied at regular intervals.

Other: Sensory integration therapy; Sensory integration therapy (SIT) was delivered individually in a play-based format, three times per week for four weeks, totaling 12 sessions. Each session lasted 60 minutes, and parents were instructed to reinforce the activities at home as homework. All interventions were administered one-on-one by an experienced therapist in a therapy room. The therapist who administered the intervention did not take part in the evaluation process; therefore, the study was conducted in a single-blind manner. Before the intervention, a trust-based relationship was established with the children, and sensory activities were performed within a play context. The interventions were not limited to oral activities but aimed to support overall sensory development [8]. Based on this program, sensory integration procedures were applied at regular intervals.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Chewing performance:	Assessed using the Karaduman Chewing Performance Scale (KCPS).	Pre-intervention assessment: Before the start of the therapy. Post-intervention assessment: Immediately after the completion of the therapy program (4 weeks).
Meal frequency and duration	Average daily meal frequency and meal duration recorded via parent interviews.	Pre-intervention assessment: Before the start of the therapy. Post-intervention assessment: Immediately after the completion of the therapy program (4 weeks).
Sociodemographic data:	Age, sex, height, weight, and diagnosis.	Before the start of the therapy.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Necmettin Erbakan University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Neslihan Altuntaş Yılmaz, Assistant Professor, Necmettin Erbakan University; Study Director: Ahmet Sami Güven, Professor, Necmettin Erbakan University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 1, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): November 1, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): February 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 29, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 29, 2025
• First Posted (Estimated): October 7, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): October 7, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 29, 2025
• Last Verified: September 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Chewing disorder, Karaduman Chewing Performance Scale (KCPS), Oral awareness, Pediatric rehabilitation, Sensory integration therapy.
• Other Study ID Numbers: NEU-PT2025-01

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: The study is complete; however, individual participant data (IPD) will not be publicly shared to protect participant confidentiality and ensure the security of personal data. Ethical approvals and consent forms do not cover data sharing. If requested, the corresponding author may share data on a case-by-case basis, ensuring participant confidentialit

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No