Relationship between Sensory Processing Skills and Feeding Behaviors in Children Aged 3–6 Years with Cerebral Palsy with Cerebral Visual Impairment

Abstract

The current study aimed to examine the relationship between sensory processing skills and feeding behavior in cerebral palsy (CP) children aged 3–6 years with cerebral visual impairment (CVI). A total of ninety mothers participated in the study in three groups: thirty mothers of children with CP with CVI, thirty mothers of children with CP without CVI, and thirty mothers of children with typical development (TD). The sensory processing skill of the children was evaluated with the Sensory Profile (SP), and feeding behavior was evaluated with the the Behavioral Pediatric Feeding Assessment Scale (BPFAS). In the triple comparison, a significant difference was found between the groups in all SP parameter and BPFAS scores (p < 0.001). Post hoc analysis revealed statistically significant differences between the groups in all parameters (p < 0.001). Feeding problems were detected in 65% of all groups. In the correlation analysis, a significant relationship was found between all parameters of the SP and the BPFAS (p < 0.05). In terms of sensory processing skills and feeding status, it was determined that children with CVI with CP had more problems than children with CP without CVI, and children with CP without CVI had more problems than children with TD. With these results, it was concluded that sensory processing problems affect feeding status, and visual impairment causes both sensory problems and feeding problems.