Gait in children with infantile/atypical autism: Age-dependent decrease in gait variability and associations with motor skills

Gait and its associations with prewalking motor milestones, motor skills, and age were investigated in 32 children with infantile/atypical autism and 36 typically developing controls. Gait was assessed using GAITRite recordings of spatiotemporal and variability gait parameters. Parents reported their child's prewalking motor milestones. Motor skills were assessed using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children. Children with infantile/atypical autism showed higher gait variability than controls, indicating a less regular walking pattern. In children with infantile/atypical autism gait variability was negatively associated with motor skills, but there was no such association with prewalking motor milestones. The higher gait variability in children with infantile/atypical autism showed an age-dependent decrease, suggesting that their gait regularity converges toward that of typically developing children.