Differentiation of high-functioning autism and Asperger's disorder based on neuromotor behaviour.

Nayate et al. (2012) watched kids walk. They looked at children with high-functioning autism and kids with Asperger's disorder.

The team used motion cameras to catch tiny differences in each child's gait. They wanted to see if the two groups moved in unique ways.

Each group showed its own walking signature. Kids with high-functioning autism moved differently from kids with Asperger's.

These gait quirks hint that separate brain circuits drive each subtype. The finding gives clinicians a quick, cheap way to tell the two apart.

Fradet et al. (2025) extends this idea to quiet standing. They found that force-plate metrics can also flag autism, shifting focus from walking to postural sway.

Miltenberger et al. (2013) used a similar lab set-up but tested one-legged balance. Their negative result for two-legged stance may look like a clash, yet the tasks differ: gait cycle versus static stand.

Zalla et al. (2018) and Caldani et al. (2020) swap legs for eyes. Both teams tracked saccades instead of steps, showing that motor anomalies in autism pop up across body parts.

You can add a ten-second hallway walk to your intake. Note rhythm, arm swing, and foot angle. If gait looks atypical, pair it with postural and eye-movement checks from later studies. Together these quick screens help you sort autism subtypes without extra paperwork.