Postural sway in the standing position of young children with mild developmental disorders

[Purpose] We assessed the upright postural balance ability of children with mild developmental disorders. [Subjects] The subjects were 17 children with mild developmental disorders (mean age 5.4 years) and 17 healthy children (mean age 5.4 years) as a control group. Informed written consent was obtained from the parents of all the children. [Methods] Postural balance was measured with a stabilometer (Gravicorder Anima Co. Tokyo) during two trials of 30s under the two conditions of static upright posture with eyes open and eyes closed. The data sampling frequency was 20 Hz. Differences between the two groups were analyzed using Student's t-test and p<0.05 was deemed significant. [Results] Under both conditions, eyes open and eyes closed, standing postural sway and sway speed differed between the two groups (p<0.05). [Conclusion] Children with mild developmental disorders show more instability in postural balance, even with their eyes open, than normal children at a young age. Therefore, we think that mild developmental disorders delay the physical development of children from an early age.