Gait analysis of teenagers and young adults diagnosed with autism and severe verbal communication disorders

Abstract

Both movement differences and disorders are common within autism spectrum disorders (ASD). These differences have wide and heterogeneous variability among different ages and sub-groups all diagnosed with ASD. Gait was studied in a more homogeneously identified group of nine teenagers and young adults who scored as “severe” in both measures of verbal communication and overall rating of Autism on the Childhood Autism Rating Scales (CARS). The ASD individuals were compared to a group of typically developing university undergraduates of similar ages. All participants walked a distance of 6-meters across a GAITRite (GR) electronic walkway for six trials. The ASD and comparison groups differed widely on many spatiotemporal aspects of gait including: step and stride length, foot positioning, cadence, velocity, step time, gait cycle time, swing time, stance time, and single and double support time. Moreover, the two groups differed in the percentage of the total gait cycle in each of these phases. The qualitative rating of “Body Use” on the CARS also indicated severe levels of unusual body movement for all of the ASD participants. These findings demonstrate that older teens and young adults with “severe” forms of Verbal Communication Impairments and Autism differ widely in their gait from typically developing individuals. The differences found in the current investigation are far more pronounced compared to previous findings with younger and/or less severely involved individuals diagnosed with ASD as compared to typically developing controls. As such, these data may be a useful anchor-point in understanding the trajectory of development of gait specifically and motor functions generally.

From movement kinematics to social cognition: the case of autism

“…On the basis that increased step width provides a wider base of support, and reduced velocity and step and stride lengths help a walker to keep their centre of gravity within this base of support, they argue that together these results suggest a tendency for individuals with autism to augment their stability during walking-and, therefore, that autistic children have a more unstable gait compared with typical children. Extending this research into the adolescent years, Weiss et al [38] found that 16-to 19-year olds with autism differed from typical controls with respect to various spatiotemporal aspects of gait, including step and stride length, foot positioning, cadence, velocity and step time. Hallett et al [35] report mild clumsiness of gait and reduced range of motion of the ankle in autistic adults.…”

Correlation between Autistic Traits and Gait Characteristics while Two Persons Walk Toward Each Other

“…The gait characteristics measured using an accelerometer attached to the body parts of a human walker are expected to describe the characteristics of individuals with ASD. The spatial and temporal characteristics measured using a walkway, such as stride length and duration variation, have been reported to differ in children with ASD compared with those in typically developing children [11]. Naruse et al [12] used an optical three-dimensional motion capture system and investigated the gait characteristics of children with attention-de cit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which is often a comorbid disorder linked with ASD [13].…”

Dyspraxia, motor function and visual–motor integration in autism

“…Continuing research has only strengthened Dr. Kanner’s observations. Studies have consistently shown motor deficits across the autism spectrum (reviews\ [2-4]) including abnormalities in muscle tone, gross and fine motor skills [5-10], gait [11-15], balance [5, 14, 16], motor planning [17, 18], motor coordination and specific common tasks such as reach-to-grasp [19]. In addition, these deficits often present early in life [20-22] and may be among the most useful predictors of a future autism diagnosis [23-26].…”