Gait Pattern Classification of Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder.

Area of Science:

• Pediatric physical therapy
• Biomechanical analysis of gait
• Developmental coordination disorder research

Background:

• Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) impacts motor skills, including walking.
• Gait analysis is crucial for understanding motor impairments in children.
• Existing gait databases provide benchmarks for typical development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create a novel index for quantifying walking performance in children.
• To classify and analyze gait patterns in children diagnosed with DCD.
• To assess the index's ability to distinguish between different age groups and developmental stages.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the San Diego database for normative gait data.
• Collected cinematographical data on 17 biomechanical markers during walking.
• Analyzed gait patterns of 7 children (6 boys, 1 girl) aged 6-7 with DCD.

Main Results:

• The developed index successfully differentiated gait variables between younger and older children in the database.
• A majority of children with DCD displayed abnormal walking patterns.
• No significant differences were found in mean time/distance gait variables between children with DCD and typically developing children (ages 3-7).
• Children with DCD exhibited significantly larger variances in gait variables, suggesting inconsistent individual patterns.

Conclusions:

• The new walking performance index is a viable tool for assessing gait in children.
• Children with DCD often present with abnormal gait patterns, but with high inter-individual variability.
• While group means may not differ, the variability highlights the heterogeneous nature of DCD gait.