Balance Control in Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Compared with typically developing (TD) children and youth, those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present more balance deficits. However, the understanding of which specific balance areas are affected remains incomplete at present.

Methods: Relevant studies were searched in PubMed, Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus and EBSCO from the establishment of the database to March 17, 2024. Two reviewers independently screened the literature, extracted data and assessed the methodological quality of the included studies. Meta-analysis was performed through Review Manager software, and a narrative description of the results was used if the data could not be pooled for meta-analysis.

Results: A total of 16 studies were included, with six being suitable for meta-analysis. The research indicated that individuals with ASD showed poorer balance control compared with TD peers. Specifically, the ASD group faced significant difficulties in sensory orientation and demonstrated deficiencies in verticality and anticipatory postural adjustments.

Conclusions: Children and youth with ASD exhibit impairments in balance control across different domains compared with their TD peers. More research is needed to comprehensively assess the balance control construct in this population, including studies with longitudinal designs in particular.

The prospero registration: The protocol of this systematic review was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (registration no. CRD42024553855; registration date 15 June 2024; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42024553855).