Treatment Objectives
- Expansion of verbal and non-verbal avenues of communication
- Perceptual development (e.g. feeling, seeing, hearing)
- Improvement in active posture and movement, activation and regulation of orofacial functions (sucking, swallowing, controlling salivation, chewing, mimicking, articulating)
- Promotion of self-motivation and self-reliance (e.g., when communicating, eating, drinking, locomoting)
- Support of parental responsibility and authority
- Avoidance of secondary pathology
Patient Profiles
Premature babies, infants, children and adults with:
- Muscular hypotonia, e.g., as in the case of Down syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome and other syndromes
- Orofacial disorders, e.g., as in the case of neurological disturbances, facial paralyses, Moebius syndrome, Pierre Robin syndrome and lip, jaw and palatal clefts
- Central-motor disorders and multiple disabilities, e.g., as in the case of cerebral palsy and skull-brain trauma
- Peripheral paralysis, e.g., as in the case of plexopathy and myelomeningocele
- Neuromuscular disorders
Treatment Examples
Early verticalization for enhancing alertness, communication, visual orientation and active posture control
Promotion of active comportment and locomotion
Facilitation of the support function of the arms and legs
Activation of sucking and swallowing, e.g., through stimulating cheek and lip activity
Awakening an appetite for and providing support of eating and drinking
Palatal plates
Palatal plates serve as a potential aid in the activation and regulation of mouth and tongue functions.
Cooperation
An intensive exchange between the physicians and therapists involved in the treatment and cooperation with the patient and the patient´s family in the spirit of trust are necessary in order to arrive at a common understanding of the patient´s condition.
This enables the planning of effective treatment, including the establishment of a set of commonly accepted objectives that are suitable to the patient´s condition.