Many young ball players have ADHD diagnoses and may have balance issues. Sports vision training can help!
Journal of Pediatrics
Volume 155, Issue 2, Pages 245-249 (August 2009)
Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Have Impaired Balance Function: Involvement of Somatosensory, Visual, and Vestibular Systems
Selina B.M. Shum, MSc, Marco Y.C. Pang, PhD
Received 19 September 2008; received in revised form 30 December 2008; accepted 13 February 2009. published online 18 May 2009.
Objectives
To compare standing balance performance and sensory organization of balance control in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (combined type) (ADHD-C) and typically developing children.
Study design
School-aged children (n = 43) with ADHD-C and 50 age- and sex-matched typically developing children participated in the study. Sensory organization of standing balance was evaluated using the Sensory Organization Test (SOT). In addition to the composite equilibrium score, somatosensory, vestibular, and visual ratios, which were indicators of the ability of the child to use information from the respective sensory systems to maintain balance, were computed. Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was used to compare the outcome variables between the 2 groups while controlling for physical activity level.
Results
MANCOVA revealed that children with ADHD-C had significantly lower composite equilibrium scores (P < .001) and somatosensory (P = .029), vestibular (P = .037), and visual ratios (P = .001) than control children, by 10.3%, 2.1%, 15.6%, and 16.0%, respectively.
Conclusions
Children with ADHD-C had significant deficits in standing balance performance in all conditions that included a disruption of sensory signals. The visual system tends to be more involved in contributing to the balance deficits in children with ADHD-C than the somatosensory and vestibular systems.
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