Direction of single obstacle circumvention in middle-aged children

- Used a single obstacle circumvention task to determine children's direction of avoidance.
- Obstacle location was in-line or off-set 15 cm from the midline of the pathway.
- Perception of open space and ability to get there was dependent on presence of a goal.
- Factors driving children's path selection are not consistent with those of adults.

When required to walk around a stationary object, adults use the location of the goal to set up their locomotor axis and obstacles presented along the locomotor axis will repel the individual towards the side that affords more space [1]. Research has yet to examine whether children can identify the locomotor axis and choose their paths accordingly. Therefore, the current study examined the factors that influence the direction in which children choose to deviate around a single obstacle and whether the presence or absence of a goal influences path selection and trajectory. Ten children (age: 7.1 years ±0.8) walked along a 9 m path and avoided a single obstacle that was located in one of three locations (midline, 15 cm to the right or 15 cm to the left). On half the trials, an end-goal was visible from the start of the path while the other half of the trials had no visible goal. The results demonstrate that: (1) children are able to perceive and move towards more open space but are more variable when the end-goal is not visible; (2) children are capable of maintaining an elliptical-shaped protective envelope when avoiding a single obstacle regardless of whether or not the locomotor axis is established; and (3) although children are capable of choosing paths that afford the most space, the manner in which they arrive at their goal is not driven by factors similar to adults.