The effect of a cognitive task on the postural control of dyslexic children.
Dyslexic children sway more and think slower the moment they talk while standing.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Bucci et al. (2013) watched dyslexic and typical children stand still.
While standing, each child named animals out loud.
Force plates tracked how much their bodies swayed.
What they found
The dyslexic group wobbled more and named fewer animals.
Adding the simple talking task hurt both balance and thinking.
How this fits with other research
Borji et al. (2023) saw the same pattern in Down syndrome teens.
Their balance also worsened when they had to say words.
Chang et al. (2010) looked at kids with autism.
They wobbled more too, yet their sway dropped when the visual task got harder.
The autism study shows some kids can tighten posture when vision matters.
Dyslexic kids in Pia’s study never tightened; balance only got worse.
Why it matters
If you ask a dyslexic client to speak while standing, expect sway.
Start seated drills first, then add quiet standing, then add talking.
Watch the feet, not just the mouth.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
We explore the influence of a secondary cognitive task on concurrent postural control in dyslexic children. Seventeen children with dyslexia (DYS) were compared with thirteen non-dyslexic children (NDYS). Postural control was recorded in Standard Romberg (SR) and Tandem Romberg (TR) conditions while children, in separate sessions, have to fixate on a target and name simple objects appearing consecutively on a computer screen. The surface, the length and the mean speed of the center of pressure were analyzed; the percentage of correct responses to the cognitive task was also measured. DYS are significantly more unstable than NDYS. The secondary cognitive task significantly decreases the postural stability in DYS only. For both children postural performances in the TR condition is significantly worse than in the SR condition. The percentage of wrong responses to the cognitive task is significantly higher in DYS. Postural instability observed in DYS supports the hypothesis that there is a deficit of automatic integration of visual information and postural control in these children. This result is in line with the U-shaped non linear model showing that a secondary task performed during a postural task leads to an impaired postural stability probably due to focus attention on the cognitive task.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2013 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2013.07.032