Effect of visual motor training on posture control of children with autism spectrum disorder

Objective To explore the influence of visual-motor integration training on posture control of children in autism spectrum disorder. Methods Fifteen autism spectrum disorder (ASD) children aged 4-12 years were selected for training intervention.Before and after training, they were tested for barefoot standing with eyes open, sockson standing witheyes open, barefoot standing with eyes closed ,and sockson standing with eyes closed 95% confidence ellipse area of pressure center (COP),average movement speed of COP and length of the gait line of walking barefoot at 1.0km/h, walking with socks at 1.0km/h,walking barefoot at 2.0 km/hand walking with socks at 2.0km/h. The difference of posture control before and after intervention was analyzed by repeated measurement variance. Matched samples t- test was used to analyze the influence of different conditions on posture control. Results Before and after the intervention, there were significant differences in 95% confidence ellipse area and COP average speed of ASD children standing (P < 0.05). There was a significant difference between left and right length of the gait lines of ASD children before and after the intervention (P < 0.05). There was a significant difference between standing with eyes open and standing with eyes closed before and after intervention in ASD children (P < 0.05). There was a significant difference between barefoot and wearing socks when standing with eyes open before and after the intervention (P < 0.05). There was a significant difference between left and right length of the gait lines of ASD children at different speeds before intervention (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference after intervention (P>0.05). Conclusions Visual motor training can improve the postural control ability of ASD children when they stand and walk, especially when they walk slowly.