Purpose:
The study is based on the hypothesis that individuals with congenital total or partial loss of vision develop more effective gait adjustments compared with those who are sighted, after stimulation of the vestibular system. Therefore, they are able to manage their motor control better. The aim was to investigate the way individuals with congenital total or partial vision loss adjust their gait following vestibular stimulation, compared with sighted blindfolded individuals.

Methods:
The total of 10 children with congenital visual impairments constituted the experimental group and 10 children with normal vision (blindfolded with special mask) formed the control group. We performed gait analysis (forward and backward gait direction) with a three-dimensional gait analysis system. The walking speed (m/s) of each group, before and after the vestibular stimulation, during forward and backward gait, was analysed.

Results:
The average walking speed of the children in the experimental group, statistically, revealed no significant differences before and after the vestibular stimulation. Conversely, in the control group, statistically significant differences in the mean walking speed before and after the vestibular system stimulation were found.

Conclusions:
Children with congenital total or partial blindness may adapt their gait strategy more adequately, after vestibular stimulation, during forward and backward gait, as compared with sighted blindfolded children. Consequently, the first group is in the position to manage their motor control more sufficiently.