Evaluation of an intensive voice treatment to reduce anterior drooling in children with cerebral palsy: Protocol for a concurrent multiple-baseline, single case experimental design study

Michelle McInerney; Christine Imms; Paul N Carding; Dinah S Reddihough

doi:10.1016/j.conctc.2021.100872

Evaluation of an intensive voice treatment to reduce anterior drooling in children with cerebral palsy: Protocol for a concurrent multiple-baseline, single case experimental design study

Contemp Clin Trials Commun. 2021 Nov 17:24:100872. doi: 10.1016/j.conctc.2021.100872. eCollection 2021 Dec.

Authors

Michelle McInerney¹, Christine Imms², Paul N Carding³, Dinah S Reddihough⁴

Affiliations

¹ Lecturer in Speech Pathology, School of Allied Health, Australian Catholic University, Level 3 TWH, 8-20 Napier Street, North Sydney, NSW, 2060, Australia.
² Apex Australia Chair of Neurodevelopment and Disability, Fellow, Occupational Therapy Australia Research Academy, Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Australia.
³ Professor of Speech Pathology, Director, Oxford Institute of Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Research (INMAHR), Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK.
⁴ The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Neurodisability and Rehabilitation, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia.

Abstract

Anterior drooling is common in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and poses significant risks to the child's health. Causes of drooling include oro-motor dysfunction, inefficient swallowing and reduced sensation in the orofacial musculature. Behavioural interventions are frequently recommended to reduce drooling; however, this is in the absence of high-quality research evidence. This paper describes a protocol for evaluating the effectiveness of the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment LOUD (LSVT LOUD®) in reducing drooling; and optimising speech and swallowing in a group of children with CP. A structured and systematic visual analysis supplemented with statistical analyses will be used to analyse the data. The risk of bias in n-of-1 trials (RoBiNT) Scale [1] guided the design and implementation of the study.

Keywords: Behavioral intervention; Cerebral palsy; Child; Drooling.