I went from a little baby who was never really expected to be able to eat or drink, to a little boy who loves his food! Sometimes, I am a bit naughty and don’t drink enough! Mum gets me in trouble those days! But, I get my food by a spoon, not a green tube. We are very happy about that! (One in 15 children with cerebral palsy have to be fed with a feeding tube.)
From the Cerebral Palsy page: Cerebral palsy can affect the muscles that open and close the mouth and move the lips and the tongue. Some people with cerebral palsy may have difficulties in chewing and swallowing food and drink.
Because cerebral palsy often impacts fine motor skills, many people are unable to easily use cutlery, hold a cup, or transfer food from a plate to their mouth using their hands. (I don’t do this yet… hopefully I will learn to do this one day!)
Because cerebral palsy can affect the muscles around the mouth, 1 in 5 children with cerebral palsy have saliva loss (also known as drooling). The saliva loss may be more noticeable when they are concentrating on a fine motor task. (I do tend to drool a lot when I am concentrating on things – like my crawling-shuffle!)