Comparison of the Effect of Corrective Exercises With and Without Suit Therapy on Gait Kinematic and Balance in Autism Children With Toe Walking

Autism is an evolutional syndrome that causes social and interactional disorders and changes movement patterns. Corrective exercises can positively affect gait and balance in autistic children. The suit therapy is jointed with hooks and elastic bands that balance pressure and support muscles and joints. This study compares the effect of corrective exercise with and without suit therapy on gait kinematic and balance in autistic children with toe walking.

A group of 30 autistic boys with toe walking (Mean±SD: age= 5.7±1.7 years, height= 106.4±19.5 cm, and weight= 20.8±5.8 kg) were chosen voluntarily and purposefully in this study and then randomly assigned into two groups of with and without suit therapy. Both groups received 8 weeks of corrective exercises, including 5 sessions per week, each session for 2 hours. The cases gait kinematic (Tree dimensional movement analysis) and balance (Tinetti) were evaluated in the pre and posttest. Paired and independent t-test were used for statistical analyses using SPSS v. 16. 

The result revealed a significant difference in the gait kinematic between the two groups. Treatment in the corrective exercises group with suit therapy was significantly more effective in stride length (P=0.001), step length (P=0.001), step width (P=0.021), walking speed (P=0.001), ankle dorsiflexion in stance (P=0.001), and swing (P=0.001) phase than that corrective exercises without suit therapy group. But between these two groups, no significant difference was observed in stride time (P=0.444), cadence (P=0.361), deviation foot (P=0.614), and hip flexion (P=0.135). The results of the study also showed no significant difference in balance (P=0.927) between groups. 

Corrective exercises with suit therapy are more effective than ones without suit therapy. Therefore, corrective exercises sessions with suit therapy are suggested for autistic boys with toe walking.