Objective: To explore the character of the balance function of ADHD and difference with control.
Methods: Subjects were 80 ADHD children and 80 non-ADHD children classified according to the diagnostic criteria of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (IV) and matched by age and sex. We used the Balance Master to evaluate their stability in different conditions. The CART was used to find the relationship between the balance function and the clinical symptoms.
Results: Under the conditions of firm surface with eyes closed(FS/EC), foam surface with eyes opened (FoS/EO) and eyes closed(FoS/EC), unilateral stance with eyes open(VS/EO) and closed(VS/EC), the sway velocity of ADHD children was higher significantly than that of the control. There was correlationship between the result of sway velocity under the condition of FoS/EC and the vestibular dysfunction, somasensory dysfunction in the sensory integration check scale, the performance IQ, verbal comprehension facter and freedom from distractibility facter in C-WISC and the hyperactivity index in conner scale.
Conclusion: ADHD children have poor stability, abnormal sensory integration and visual, somatosensory, vestibular function deficits. There is correlation between the balance dysfunction and the clinical symptoms and the deficits in behaviour and cognition.