Currently submitted to: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Sep 5, 2026
Open Peer Review Period: Sep 8, 2026 - Nov 3, 2026
(currently open for review)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Static Postural Control and Sensory Inputs in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
ABSTRACT
Background:
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) commonly present differences in sensory processing and sensorimotor integration that may affect postural control. Force-platform studies have reported altered postural sway and responses to visual and somatosensory perturbations; however, existing syntheses have focused mainly on selected linear center-of-pressure measures and have not comprehensively evaluated broader linear and nonlinear metrics across sensory conditions.
Objective:
This systematic review and meta-analysis will quantify differences in static postural control between children with ASD and neurotypical peers and examine the influence of sensory manipulation on postural responses.
Methods:
The protocol was preregistered on the Open Science Framework (OSF). PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and LILACS will be searched without date or language restrictions, and reference lists of eligible articles will be screened. Eligible studies will include participants younger than 10 years with ASD or Asperger syndrome, a neurotypical comparison group, and at least 2 center-of-pressure outcomes obtained from force-platform assessments. Two reviewers will independently screen studies and extract data. Random-effects meta-analyses will use standardized mean differences with 95% confidence intervals. Heterogeneity will be assessed using I². Planned post hoc analyses will examine sensory-condition ratios and directional sway ratios when sufficient data are available.
Results:
The protocol has been preregistered on OSF. No quantitative synthesis results are reported at this protocol stage.
Conclusions:
This review is expected to clarify the magnitude and pattern of static postural control differences in children with ASD and to characterize how visual and somatosensory manipulations influence balance. Synthesizing conventional and nonlinear postural metrics may provide a more comprehensive account of sensory-motor control in this population. Clinical Trial: Open Science Framework (OSF), 10.17605/OSF.IO/X95BD.
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