Postural and Cortical Responses Following Visual Occlusion in Adults With and Without ASD.

Goh et al. (2018) watched adults with and without autism stand still while wearing a cap that records brain waves. The team covered each person’s eyes for short blinks to see how the brain and body kept balance.

They compared cortical activity and tiny body sway between the two groups.

Adults with autism kept their bodies steady, but their brains worked harder. When vision was blocked, they showed bigger cortical responses than neurotypical peers.

The extra brain effort suggests they need more neural fuel to stay upright when sight is taken away.

Lim et al. (2017) pooled 19 studies and saw large balance deficits in autism across all sensory tests. Leng’s adults looked stable on the surface, so the new data reveal the hidden cortical cost behind those earlier sway findings.

Doumas et al. (2016) also found bigger sway in autistic adults when sensory input was tricky. Leng extends that work by showing the brain, not the body, is where the main difference lives.

Ghanouni et al. (2017) showed faces wobble kids with autism more than objects. Leng used simple eye covers instead of social pictures, pointing to a broader visual-postural sensitivity in autism beyond social stimuli.

When you test balance, quiet body sway can fool you. Add a quick vision block and watch for delayed recovery or extra effort cues like toe gripping or facial tension. These signs may guide you to build visual-somatosensory drills that cut cognitive load and keep clients safer during daily transitions.