Gait disorders in the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): an integrative review

Abstract

Introduction: Human gait is defined by the sequence of repetitive movements of the lower limbs that leads the body forward, providing postural stability. In Austist Spectrum Disorder (ASD), in addition to social and linguistic impairment, this movement dynamic may be altered. Objectives: To characterize gait changes in individuals with ASD. Design and setting: Integrative review of the literature, University of Pernambuco, Recife. Methods: We reviewed articles indexed in the databases: MEDLINE/Pubmed, SciELO and Google Scholar. The descriptors “Autism Spectrum Disorder” and “Gait Disorders, Neurologic” were used, according to DeCS / MeSH. Articles in Portuguese and English that contemplated the objectives of the review, published between 2011-2021 were selected. Results: 13 articles were included. It was shown that children with ASD, compared to neurotypical (NT), showed atypical gait, using different strategies to load the body and mitigate the impact of movement. Alterations included: toe walking; increased hip flexion and stance phase; greater pelvic anteversion; reduced gait speed; shorter steps; greater asymmetry; difficulties walking in a straight line; less distribution of plantar pressure and wide-based gait. They also have greater variability in joint movement. Finally, we noticed that there is a scarcity of clinical studies that analyze biomechanical and neurophysiological data together, and a lack of uniformity in the methodological criteria.