Gait characteristics in individuals with intellectual disabilities: a literature review.
People with ID walk differently from early childhood on, and those differences predict falls you can prevent.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Almuhtaseb et al. (2014) read every paper they could find on how people with intellectual disability walk.
They pulled together studies on normal walking, fast walking, and walking while doing other tasks.
The goal was to see if certain walking patterns show up again and again in this group.
What they found
The review found the same problems in study after study.
People with ID take shorter, flatter steps and sway more from side to side.
These odd patterns show up even when the ground is flat and nothing else is happening.
How this fits with other research
Oppewal et al. (2018) later showed adults with ID walk like neurotypical adults who are twenty years older.
That study adds numbers to the 2014 picture and says balance loss starts early, not just in seniors.
Beck et al. (2021) looked only at kids and found the same short, flat, weak push-off steps.
Together the three papers trace one steady line: gait problems begin in childhood and stay for life.
Salb et al. (2015) recorded lots of falls in adults with ID living in group homes.
Their count of falls gives real-world proof that the strange steps Sanaa spotted truly matter.
Why it matters
If you serve clients with ID, add a quick gait check to your intake. Watch them walk ten steps and back. Look for flat feet, wide stance, or arms held high for balance. Note what you see and share it with the PT or nurse. Early catch means early balance training, safer walks to the bus, and fewer 3 a.m. fall calls from the group home.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Gait is a functionally highly relevant aspect of motor performance. In the general population poorer gait increases the risk of falls and is a predictor for future disability, cognitive impairment, institutionalization and/or mortality. People with intellectual disabilities (ID) show a delayed motor development, which brings to attention the abnormalities that might accompany gait in this population throughout childhood and adulthood. Therefore, this paper aims (a) to provide a focused review of the available literature on gait characteristics in individuals with ID and (b) to gain insight into available instrumentations measuring gait in this population. We searched the database of PubMed for relevant articles and the reference lists of included articles, resulting in 44 included articles. Forty one studies reported gait characteristics during over-ground walking and six studies during perturbed walking conditions. Most studies investigated syndrome-specific ID populations, only five studies investigated the general ID population. The studies show that gait abnormalities are evident during over-ground walking in the ID population, both in people with genetic syndromes and with ID without genetic syndromes. During perturbed conditions people with ID altered their gait with stability-enhancing adaptations. Abnormalities in gait may be partly explained by physical features, but the interrelatedness between gait and cognition may also be an explanation for the gait abnormalities seen in the ID population. Further research regarding gait characteristics of the ID population, and its relation to cognitive functioning, and adverse health outcomes is needed.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2014 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2014.07.017