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.
Gait Pattern Classification of Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder
