The results of this study are significant because they will fulfill
the need for a convenient and appropriate way to assess drooling in
patients with severe developmental disabilities who are not able to
follow DQ procedures. Based on the results of this study, the DSFS
scale is thought to be a useful subjective method of drooling
measurement that can measure changes in drooling based on the
parents/caregivers evaluation, while it appears to preserve the
same validity and reliability of the Drooling Quotient. Another
advantage of the DSFS scale is that it is less time consuming than
the DQ and more easy to use in the clinic to evaluate the effect of
drooling interventions.
The results also showed that associations between measurements
in patients with neurological disorders and of those with
developmental delays were similar. Associations also remained
similar regardless of the patient’s age.
In this study results revealed a rather weak association between
DQ and number of bib changes. This suggests that the number of
bib changes would not effectively characterize drooling status as