Abstract
The aim of this study was to explore whether a short postural training period could affect postural stability in dyslexic children. Postural performances were evaluated using Multitest Equilibre from Framiral. Posture was recorded in three different viewing conditions (eyes open fixating a target, eyes closed and eyes open with perturbed vision) and in two different postural conditions (on stable and unstable support). Two groups of dyslexic children participated in the study, i.e. G1: 16 dyslexic participants (mean age 9.9 ± 0.3 years) who performed short postural training and G2: 16 dyslexic participants of similar ages (mean age 9.1 ± 0.3 years) who did not perform any short postural training. Findings showed that short postural training improved postural stability on unstable support surfaces with perturbed vision: indeed the surface, the mean velocity of CoP and the spectral power indices in both directions decreased significantly, and the cancelling time in the antero-posterior direction improved significantly. Such improvement could be due to brain plasticity, which allows better performance in sensory process and cerebellar integration.
Highlights
According to the American Psychiatric Association [1], dyslexia is a neurobiological disorder characterized by a difficulty in reading acquisition despite adequate intelligence and conventional education, motivation or social level.According to an exhaustive literature, dyslexic children have poor postural control with respect to control age-matched children
The present study explored whether a short postural training period could have an effect on the postural capabilities of dyslexic children
analysis of variance (ANOVA) failed to show any statistical difference on postural parameters between the two groups of dyslexic participants G1 and G2 (F(1,30) = 0.33, p = 0.56 and F(1,30) = 0.19, p = 0.66, respectively)
Summary
According to an exhaustive literature, dyslexic children have poor postural control with respect to control age-matched children. Several studies describe poor motor coordination, which could be due to cerebellar deficit in dyslexic children [3,4,5]. Many symptoms observed in dyslexia have conducted scientists to suspect a cerebellar origin [6]. This deficit could be associated to a delay of maturity in the cerebellar development, as described by Stoodley et al [7]. Konczak et al [8] found that dyslexic children display poor motor performances similar to those reported in children with cerebellar lesions. Another study from O’hare et al [9] describes that such children have a PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0130196 July 10, 2015
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