Narrow Results

The purpose of this scoping review was to outline the current gait interventions used in biomechanics-based research focused on persons with autism spectrum disorder. A review of articles was conducted using the PRISMA methodology for reporting guidance with an a priori PICO framework. The selected articles were identified, reviewed, evaluated for risk of bias, and used to group biomechanics-based gait interventions that have been implemented in research involving persons with autism spectrum disorder. Titles and abstracts of 573 articles were reviewed; seven articles describing gait interventions met the inclusionary criteria. The interventions reported in the literature were hippotherapy, weighted vests, and exercise programs. Additional orthopedic interventions (serial casting and foot orthoses) were utilized for individuals who primarily walk on their forefoot. Findings from this review reveal changes in spatiotemporal characteristics post-hippotherapy, changes in ground reaction forces and foot pressures after participation in exercise intervention programs, and no change in parameters via weighted vests. For persons with autism spectrum disorder who are forefoot strikers, the use of serial casting and foot orthoses reportedly improved the overall kinematic and spatiotemporal parameters during gait.