Motor Capabilities in Children with ADHD Are Improved after Brief Visuopostural Training

Abstract

Children with ADHD show poor motor control. The aim of the present study was to test whether children with ADHD improved their motor performances (oculomotor as well as posture) after a short visuopostural training period. Two groups (G1 trained and G2 non-trained), each comprising 15 children with ADHD matched in IQ (intelligence quotient), sex, and age, participated in the study. Eye movements and postural sway were measured before (T1) and after (T2) 10 min of visuopostural training for the trained group and after 10 min of resting for the non-trained group. Training consisted of a visual search task performed while the child was standing on an unstable platform. At T1, oculomotor and postural abilities were statistically similar for both groups of children with ADHD (trained and non-trained). At T2, significant improvements in both oculomotor and postural capabilities were observed for the trained group but not for the non-trained group. These findings suggest that a short visuopostural training period could help children with ADHD to learn how to focus their visual attention in order to improve motor performance. Visuopostural training could allow a better integration of sensory inputs via central mechanisms, leading to improvement in both oculomotor and postural control. Further studies on a larger number of children with ADHD will be needed to confirm these findings and explore the eventual possible persistence of the training effect.

Arousal dysregulation and executive dysfunction in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

“…This would explain impulsivity and distractibility as deficits in EF (such as in response inhibition) which would directly impact the ability to sustain attention to goal directed tasks and self-regulate social–emotional behaviors. However, the hyperactivity aspect of ADHD is largely ignored by this approach ( 11 ) in conjunction of other manifestations commonly documented in ADHD such as motor impairments ( 12 , 13 ) particularly balance and gait disorders ( 14 , 15 ). Despite the fact that for many decades the hypothesis that a primary EF deficit underlies ADHD behavioral symptoms has predominated in research studies, empirical findings have challenged these assumptions questioning EF deficits as a single etiology in ADHD ( 16 – 18 ) suggesting that poor neuropsychological performance might also relate to motivational or activation deficits ( 11 ).…”