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

Michael J Weiss,Matthew F Moran,Mary E Parker,John T Foley

doi:10.3389/fnint.2013.00033

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.

Highlights

Movement disorders among individuals with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have been gaining greater attention over recent years
Any consideration of a possible relation between level of function and aspects of gait must include the findings reported by Kern et al (2010) who demonstrated that the degree of “severity” in the ASD diagnosis correlates with muscle strength
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS In comparing our data to that reported by others (Vilensky et al, 1981; Hallett et al, 1993; Vernazza-Martin et al, 2005; Rinehart et al, 2006a,b; Calhoun et al, 2011), it would appear that there are greater and more widespread differences in spatiotemporal parameters of gait among individuals who present with more severe forms of ASD and verbal communication disorders

Summary

Introduction

Movement disorders among individuals with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have been gaining greater attention over recent years. There is a growing number of researchers who have characterized disorders of movement as fundamental aspects of ASD (Leary and Hill, 1996; Donnellan et al, 2010; Fournier et al, 2010). This is a nontrivial distinction implying that differences in movement may offer clues to the underlying etiology of ASD, rather than being “associated” with the diagnosis

Results

Discussion

Conclusion