The Role of Vision in Walking Patterns in Children with Different Levels of Motor Coordination

Research has shown that children with developmental coordination disorder rely more heavily on vision to perform movement skills than their typically developing peers. This study investigates the contribution of visual information during walking between typically developing (TD) children and children at risk of developmental coordination disorder (DCDR). Thirty-two children (21 boys and 11 girls, mean age: 8.9, SD: 0.9 years) were divided into two motor competence groups based on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-second version. Participants walked along a 10-metre walkway, and their gait characteristics were recorded under four visual conditions: full vision, receiving vision for 150-ms and 100-ms within each 2 sec, and non-vision. Results indicated that TD children walked faster with longer steps and strides than DCDR children, irrespective of the visual condition. Time variables such as stance phase, single support, load response, and pre-swing were significantly different between TD and DCDR children. Additionally, the speed of walking and the step and stride length decreased significantly as occlusion time increased, regardless of motor competence level. The findings suggest that withdrawing and limiting visual information affects some gait cycle parameters differently in DCDR and TD children.