Gait Pattern Classification of Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder

The purpose was to develop an index of walking performance and to examine gait pattern classifications of children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). The San Diego database (Sutherland, Olshen, Biden, & Wyatt, 1988) provided data for our calculation of the index and for determining that the index was able to differentiate between gait variables of older (ages 3 to 7) and younger (ages 1 to 2.5) children comprising the database. We obtained cinematographical data on 17 biomechanical markers of 6 boys and 1 girl, ages 6 to 7, with DCD, during walking. Analysis of individuals with DCD gait patterns revealed that most had abnormal walking patterns. The means of the time/distance gait variables did not differ between children with DCD and San Diego children, ages 3 to 7. Children with DCD had much larger variances than other children, indicating no systematic pattern in individual gait differences.