Most studies examining gait asymmetry have focused on infants and toddlers and have tended to use subjective methods of evaluating movement. No previous studies have examined gait symmetry in older children with autism using objective motion capture systems. The purpose of this paper was to quantify gait symmetry in children with autism versus age-matched controls. Fourteen children with autism ( ) and twenty-two ( ) age, height, and weight-matched controls participated in the study. An eight camera Vicon motion capture system and four Kistler force plates were used to compute temporal-spatial parameters and symmetry indices during walking. Group differences in these measures were tested using MANOVAs. No significant differences between the autism and control group were found for any of the temporal-spatial measures or symmetry indices. Therefore, results suggest that children with autism demonstrate typical symmetry or interlimb movement during gait. Further research is needed to examine the use of different gait inputs to the symmetry indices (e.g., joint angles and moments). A greater awareness of the movement patterns associated with autism may increase our understanding of this disorder and have important implications for treatment planning. 1. Introduction Autism is a developmental disorder that is typically characterized by impaired social interactions and communication and restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behaviour [1]. Numerous studies have also found evidence of movement impairments in children with autism. Asymmetry of movements during lying [2–4], righting [3], sitting [2, 5], crawling [2, 3], and standing [6] has been reported during early development. Several studies have also found gait disturbances in children and adults with autism [2, 3, 7–10]. Studies of movement in autism have examined symmetry of movement as an indicator of underlying neurological impairments. Research on movement asymmetries has typically focused on infants and toddlers [3, 11]. Studies of older children and adults with autism have typically described movement impairments but not asymmetry [8, 10, 12–15]. Therefore, it is not known whether movement asymmetries persist with development. Further, most of the above studies on gait symmetry in autism have used observational scales and video analyses. The examination of gait symmetry using motion capture systems may facilitate a more objective analysis of symmetry during gait. The measurement of temporal-spatial data may allow the monitoring of compensations occurring during gait, reflecting an
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