Balance Performance in Autism: A Brief Overview

Stins, John F.; Emck, Claudia

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00901

Cited by 46 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 58 publications

(63 reference statements)

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“…Although the prevalence of balance problems in ASD is well acknowledged, explanations regarding the causes of the postural stability deficits diverge. For example, some authors outline the role of anxiety on postural instability [ 65 ] while others attribute the problem to poor cognition [ 66 ]. Nevertheless, most of the debate lies in whether postural deficits are related to sensorimotor or integrational problems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physiological Profile Assessment of Posture in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typically Developing Peers

et al. 2020

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A sound postural system requires sensorimotor integration. Evidence suggests that individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) present sensorimotor integration impairments. The Physiological Profile Assessment (PPA) can be used to evaluate postural capacity assessing five physiological subsets (i.e., vision, reaction time, peripheral sensation, lower limb strength, balance); however, no studies applied the PPA in young individuals. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the PPA in children and adolescents with ASD compared with age-matched typically developing (TD) individuals and examine the relationship between the PPA subset within the ASD and TD participants according to different age groups. Percentiles from the PPA were obtained from the TD children and adolescents (n = 135) for each test. Performances of the individuals with ASD (n = 18) were examined relative to the TD percentiles. ASD participants’ scores were above the 90th percentile (i.e., poor performance) in most sensory, motor and balance parameters. Performance in most of the PPA tests significantly improved with older age in the TD group but not in the ASD group. The study findings support the use of the PPA in TD children and adolescents while further research should investigate postural capacity in a larger ASD sample to enhance the understanding of sensorimotor systems contributing to compromised postural control.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physiological Profile Assessment of Posture in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typically Developing Peers

et al. 2020

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“… 31 For example, it has been repeatedly reported that children with NDD often have more difficulties in balance and postural stability, compared with their typically developing peers, especially in conditions where vestibular feedback was the sole accurate source of sensory information. 43–46 Unfortunately, research on the vestibular function in children with NDD is scarce, lacks quality and/or does not use an extensive vestibular test battery including recent assessment techniques (see a recent systematic review for more details. 31 In addition, none of the current studies investigating vestibular function in an NDD population, linked the vestibular responses with cognitive and/or motor outcome measures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Balanced Growth project: a protocol of a single-centre observational study on the involvement of the vestibular system in a child’s motor and cognitive development

et al. 2021

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IntroductionThe involvement of the vestibular system in the motor and higher (cognitive) performances of typically developing or vestibular-impaired children is currently unknown or has only scarcely been explored. Interestingly, arguments for an interaction between vestibular, motor and cognitive functions in children can also be supported by research on children known for their difficulties in motor and/or cognitive processing (eg, children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD)), as they often present with vestibular-like characteristics. Therefore, in order to elucidate this interaction, and to increase the understanding of the pathophysiology and symptomatology of vestibular disorders and NDD in children, the Balanced Growth project was developed. It includes the following objectives: (1) to understand the association between motor skills, cognitive performances and the vestibular function in typically developing school-aged children, with special focus on the added value of the vestibular system in higher cognitive skills and motor competence; (2) to investigate whether a vestibular dysfunction (with/without an additional auditory disease) has an impact on motor skills, cognitive performances and motor–cognitive interactions in children and (3) to assess if an underlying vestibular dysfunction can be identified in school-aged children with NDD, with documentation of the occurrence and characteristics of vestibular dysfunctions in this group of children using an extensive vestibular test battery.Methods and analysisIn order to achieve the objectives of the observational cross-sectional Balanced Growth study, a single-task and dual-task test protocol was created, which will be performed in three groups of school-aged children (6–12 years old): (1) a typically developing group (n=140), (2) (audio) vestibular-impaired children (n=30) and (3) children with an NDD diagnosis (n=55) (ie, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and/or developmental coordination disorder). The test protocol consists of several custom-made tests and already existing validated test batteries and includes a vestibular assessment, an extensive motor assessment, eight neurocognitive tests, a cognitive–motor interaction assessment and includes also additional screenings to control for potential confounding factors (eg, hearing status, intelligence, physical activity, etc).Ethics and disseminationThe current study was approved by the ethics committee of Ghent University Hospital on 4 June 2019 with registration number B670201940165 and is registered at Clinical Trials (clinicaltrials.gov) with identifier NCT04685746. All research findings will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journals and presented at vestibular as well as multidisciplinary international conferences and meetings.Trial registration numberNCT04685746.

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“…For several years, the cerebellum has been considered a key brain actor in neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) [ 6 , 7 ]. Some of the symptoms, such as social communication deficits, executive dysfunctions, poor motor control, or memory impairments, reported in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), dyslexia, and attention deficit/hyperactive disorders (ADHDs) may be related to functional deficits in distinct cerebellar sub-regions [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. Some studies reported the presence of vermal morphologic abnormalities in subjects with ASD, a right cerebellar hypoperfusion in subjects with dyslexia, and a volume reduction of the posterior vermis or of the whole cerebellum in subjects with ADHD [ 12 , 13 , 14 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vestibular Functioning in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders Using the Functional Head Impulse Test

et al. 2020

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Several studies in children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) including autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), reading impairment, or attention deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD) pointed toward a potential dysfunction of the vestibular system, specifically in its complex relationship with the cerebellum. The aim of the present study was to test the functional vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) responses in children with NDDs to measure functional performance of the vestibular system. The VOR is specifically involved in this stabilization of the image on the retina during rapid movements of the head. To perform this study, four groups of children with ASD, ADHD, reading impairment, and with neurotypical development (TD) were enrolled (n = 80). We performed the functional head impulse test (fHIT), which measured the percentage of correct responses by asking the child to identify an optotype briefly presented during passive head impulse in each direction of each semicircular canal plane. We observed significantly lower correct answers in children with NDDs compared with those with TD (p < 0.0001). Surprisingly, there was no significant difference between the three groups of children with NDDs. Our study fostered preliminary evidence suggesting altered efficiency of vestibular system in children with NDDs. VOR abnormalities estimated using the fHIT could be used as a proxy of NDD impairments in children, and represent a potential biomarker.

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Balance Performance in Autism: A Brief Overview

Cited by 46 publications

References 58 publications

Physiological Profile Assessment of Posture in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typically Developing Peers

Physiological Profile Assessment of Posture in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typically Developing Peers

Balanced Growth project: a protocol of a single-centre observational study on the involvement of the vestibular system in a child’s motor and cognitive development

Vestibular Functioning in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders Using the Functional Head Impulse Test

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