An Instrument To Measure Independent Walking: Are There Differences Between Preterm and Fullterm Infants?

In clinical practice walking independently has always been considered a major milestone in development. Nevertheless, little attention has been paid to the quality of movement expressed in the first attempts at walking free. Even when children achieve walking within a normal time range, some of them...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of child neurology 1997-01, Vol.12 (1), p.37-41
Main Authors: de Groot, Laila, de Groot, Cees J., Hopkins, Brian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis of Variance
Chi-Square Distribution
Child Development - physiology
Child, Preschool
Humans
Infant, Low Birth Weight - growth & development
Infant, Newborn
Infant, Premature - growth & development
Parents
Posture - physiology
Pregnancy
Premature Infants
Scientific Concepts
Scoring
Toys
Videotape Recorders
Walking - physiology
Young Children
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Summary:In clinical practice walking independently has always been considered a major milestone in development. Nevertheless, little attention has been paid to the quality of movement expressed in the first attempts at walking free. Even when children achieve walking within a normal time range, some of them show features that are deviant. Early walking is difficult to judge, but at the same time may provide a sensitive means for detecting possible developmental impairments. The main aim of this paper is to provide a standardized clinical instrument for the qualitative assessment of early walking in a structured free field situation and to compare preterm and fullterm infants. All subjects were assessed 14 days after being able to walk 5 meters independently. The study group consisted of 52 children, of whom 33 were born prematurely (further distinguished in terms of being small- or appropriate-for-gestational age), and 19 were born fullterm. Judgments of walking performance were made in terms of optimal, near-optimal, near-poor, or poor. After correction for age, the preterm group was still later in the onset of walking, but more importantly, showed a qualitatively different pattern of locomotion. Those who were the youngest and small-for-gestational age were overrepresented in the near-poor and poor categories of walking. (J Child Neurol 1997;12:37-41).
ISSN:0883-0738
1708-8283
DOI:10.1177/088307389701200106