Differences in gait complexity and variability between children with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder

We used elliptical Fourier analysis (EFA) to examine potential differences in the complexity and variability of gait of children with (N = 10) and without (N = 10) Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). Children with DCD generated movement patters with larger variability and complexity than typically developing (TD) children. In addition, children with DCD exhibited greater asymmetry in their movement patterns compared to TD children. Our results suggest that children with DCD have significantly greater difficulty producing consistent movement patterns both across their left and right legs and over repeated strides. EFA techniques show promise for distinguishing between different groups of individuals.