Locomotion and Postural Control in Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Novel Kinesiological Assessment

<b>Background/Objectives</b>: The purposes of the present study were to assess gait by using a novel approach that plots two adjacent joint angles and the postural control in individuals with autism (ASD) and individuals with typical neurodevelopmental (TD). <b>Methods</b>: The surface electromyography (sEMG) activity was measured synchronously with the other variables. Twenty young adult men, 10 with TD and 10 with a diagnosis of ASD, took part in this study. <b>Results:</b> There was a significant difference between ASD and TD groups in the area described by the knee-ankle diagram (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The sEMG activity recorded from the lateral gastrocnemius (LG) during the contact phase of gait was significantly lower in the ASD group compared with the TD group (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The sEMG activity recorded in the different postural conditions showed differences in LG and tibialis anterior (TA) between the ASD and TD groups (<i>p</i> < 0.05). <b>Conclusions</b>: The knee-ankle diagram provided a sensitive and specific movement descriptor to differentiate individuals with ASD from individuals with TD. The reduced LG activation is responsible for the reduced area in the knee-ankle diagram and 'toe-walking' in individuals with ASD and represents the common denominator of an altered ankle strategy during locomotion and postural control.