Dysphagia is common problem in almost all children with cerebral palsy (CP) and there is no consensus about to dysphagia therapy modalities.We aimed to investigate the short- and long-term effects of kinesio taping (KT) on dysphagia in children with CP.

There is a few studies for the effectiveness of KT application in the treatment of dysphagia and its effectiveness is controversial. These small-scale studies conducted to improve control of drooling in the oral phase of swallowing in CP. However, there are no studies that have evaluated swallowing as a whole. Moreover, there is a need to carry out studies evaluating the efficacy of KT in dysphagia treatment with a high level of evidence and duration of effectivenes for a period longer than 3 months. This study is designed to answer the following research questions: "Is KT application effective in the treatment of dysphagia in CP?" ''If it is effective, whether the effect of KT therapy persists more than 3 months''.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Children between the ages of 2 and 6 years who had oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) symptom and/or finding and were subsequently hospitalized and rehabilitated were included in this study.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with history of maxillary, head or neck surgery or botulinum toxin injection, structural oropharyngeal abnormality, known esophageal dysphagia and/or gastroesophageal reflux disease, who were received medical and/or physical therapy for dysphagia in the last 6 months, using drugs for seizures or spasticity as well as no oral intake and tube dependent completely for feeding were not included.

A short practical training was performed before the study. The study was performed by a group of independent specialists blinded to treatment allocation.