An Overview of the Available Intervention Strategies for Postural Balance Control in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Table 1

Summary of studies evaluating the effects of physical interventions on balance performance in ASD.

Study	Participants	Intervention	Frequency	Results
Ansari et al., 2021 [23]	8–14-years-old boys with ASD at levels 1 or 2 of severity according to Gars-2	Training kata techniques and aquatic exercise	Ten weeks, two sessions per week, each session lasted for 60 minutes.	Static and dynamic balance improved in both intervention groups compared to controls.
Sarabzadeh et al., 2019 [24]	6–12-years-old children with ASD who had at least received one year of treatment for ASD	Tai Chi Chuan training	Ten weeks, two sessions per week, each session lasted for 60 minutes.	Static and dynamic balance improved in the intervention group compared to controls.
Kim et al., 2016 [29]	8–14-years-old children with ASD	Taekwondo	Eight weeks, two sessions per week, each session lasted for 50 minutes.	Performance in the right single-leg stance test with closed eyes improved compared to controls. There were no other significant differences in functional balance and postural sway during single- or double-leg stance tests with eyes open or closed between groups.
Yilmaz et al., 2004 [35]	A nine-years-old child with ASD	Swimming	Ten weeks	Performances of a patient with ASD in a single-leg stance test with eyes open or closed were improved.
Satiansukpong et al., 2008 [43]	Boys with ASD who were 11–19 years old	Elephant-assisted therapy	Three weeks, four days a week, each session lasted for seven hours.	Static and dynamic balance improved in four individuals with ASD.
Nuntanee et al., 2019 [42]	8–19-years-old children with ASD who had poor balance control	Motorizes elephant-assisted therapy	Four weeks, two days a week, each session lasted for 90 minutes.	Postural sway decreased in all directions in individuals who were in the experimental group; however, these changes were not statistically significant in all directions.
Ajzenman et al., 2013 [45]	5–12-years-old children with ASD	Hippotherapy	Twelve weeks, once a week, each session lasted for 45 minutes.	Postural control improved in individuals with ASD.
Wuang et al., 2010 [44]	6–10-years-old children with ASD	Simulated developmental horse-riding program	Twenty weeks, two sessions per week, each lasting for one hour.	Balance control significantly improved after combining occupational therapy and the simulated developmental horse-riding program compared to routine occupational therapy.
Lourenco et al., 2015 [57]	4–11-years-old children with mild to moderate ASD	Exercise on trampoline	Twenty weeks, one session per week, each session lasted for 45 minutes.	Functional dynamic balance improved more in individuals with ASD who exercised on a trampoline compared to controls.
Cheldavi et al., 2014 [60]	7–10-years-old boys with ASD and IQ of higher than 80	Progressive balance training	Six weeks, three sessions per week, each session lasting 45 minutes.	The velocity of the center of pressure and postural sway in anteroposterior and mediolateral directions decreased in individuals who participated in the program compared to controls.
Caldani et al., 2020 [62]	Children with ASD and a mean age of 11.7 years	Balance training using rehabilitation programs	Two sessions of dynamic balance training lasting for 45 minutes	Postural balance after a short postural rehabilitation training program was improved.
Travers et al., 2018 [64]	7–17-years-old individuals with ASD	Balance training using videogames	Six weeks, three sessions per week, each session lasted for an hour.	Postural sway with eyes open or closed and balance performances while standing on one or two legs were improved in participants.
Smoot Reinert et al., 2015 [65]	9–10-years-old children with ASD	Vestibular therapy	A session of ten minutes of vestibular therapy	Postural sway was decreased while standing on a plate with eyes open. Also, postural sway while standing on a foam pad with eyes closed was increased.
Mahmoodifar et al., 2020 [69]	6–14-years-old children with ASD and IQ of higher than 75	Transcranial direct current stimulation + motor training	Ten sessions of treatment	The dynamic and static balances were more improved in individuals who received transcranial direct current stimulation and motor training compared to those who only received exercise treatment
Najafabadi et al., 2018 [78]	5–12-years-old children with ASD	Sports, play, and active recreation for kids (SPARK)	Twelve weeks, three sessions per week	Both social interactions and motor skills, including dynamic and static balance control and bilateral coordination, have been enhanced.