Open AccessMaximizing Participation During Walking in Children With Disabilities: Is Response to Unpredictability Important?
Author(s) -
Dora Gosselin,
Alexis A. Wright,
Gisela Sole,
Jeffrey B. Taylor,
G. David Baxter
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
pediatric physical therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.621
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1538-005X
pISSN - 0898-5669
DOI - 10.1097/pep.0000000000000575
Subject(s) - physical medicine and rehabilitation , psychology , stimulus (psychology) , psychological intervention , obstacle , typically developing , cognitive psychology , developmental psychology , medicine , autism , psychiatry , political science , law
Walking ability is one of the primary components of human motor function, and interventions aimed at improving walking ability are common in physical therapy, particularly in children. One element encountered in a participatory, or natural, environment is unpredictability, defined as the presence of an unexpected obstacle, stimulus, or alteration of the environmental conditions. Little research has assessed the influence of unpredictability on biomechanical adaptations to walking in children who are developing typically or children with motor disabilities. A variety of impairments may result in an inadequate response to unpredictability, and we propose that there may be a relationship between response to an unpredictable visual cue and mobility-based participation.