Physical Activity Design for Balance Rehabilitation in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

One of the characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) subjects is postural control deficit, which is significant when somatosensory perception is affected. This study analyzed postural stability evolution after physical therapy exercises based on balance training. The study included 28 childr...

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Published inChildren (Basel) Vol. 9; no. 8; p. 1152
Main Authors Roșca, Andreea Maria, Rusu, Ligia, Marin, Mihnea Ion, Ene Voiculescu, Virgil, Ene Voiculescu, Carmen
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 30.07.2022
MDPI
Subjects
ASD
Autistic children
balance
Care and treatment
Communication
Disability
Equilibrium (Physiology)
Executive function
Exercise
Exercise therapy
Health aspects
Methods
NMR
Nuclear magnetic resonance
Pediatrics
Pervasive developmental disorders
Physical fitness
postural control
Rehabilitation
Training
Romania
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Summary:One of the characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) subjects is postural control deficit, which is significant when somatosensory perception is affected. This study analyzed postural stability evolution after physical therapy exercises based on balance training. The study included 28 children with ASD (average age 8 years, average weight 32.18 kg). The rehabilitation program involved performing balance exercises twice a week for three months. Subject assessment was carried out using the RSScan platform. The parameters were the surface of the confidence ellipse (A) and the length of the curve (L) described by the pressure center, which were evaluated before and after the rehabilitation program. Following data processing, we observed a significant decrease in the surface of the confidence ellipse by 92% from EV1 to EV2. Additionally, a decrease of 42% in the curve length was observed from EV1 to EV2. A t test applied to the ellipse surface showed a p = 0.021 and a Cohen’s coefficient of 0.8 (very large effect size). A t test applied to the length L showed p = 0.029 and Cohen’s coefficient of 1.27 mm. Thus, the results show a significant improvement in the two parameters. The application of the program based on physical exercise led to an improvement in the balance of children with autism under complex evaluation conditions.
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These authors contributed equally to this work.
ISSN:2227-9067
2227-9067
DOI:10.3390/children9081152