# The assessment of walking skills: Italian version

## TL;DR

This paper describes the translation and adaptation of a walking skills assessment tool for use in Italy.

## Contribution

The paper provides a translated and culturally adapted version of the AWS scale for Italian use.

## Key findings

- The AWS scale was translated and adapted for Italian use to assess gait apraxia.
- The AWS includes 42 items to evaluate trunk and leg movements in patients.
- This adaptation supports standardized evaluation of gait apraxia in Italian populations.

## Abstract

Apraxia is a neuropsychological disorder that impairs voluntary, purposeful movements, with “Gait apraxia” specifically affecting walking. Because of the lack of standardized diagnostic tools, in Italian, we translated and adapted the “Assessment of Walking Skills” (AWS) scale, originally developed for identifying gait apraxia in Alzheimer’s patients. The AWS includes 42 items that evaluate trunk and leg movements, useful for comparing the performance between patients and healthy controls. This translation and adaptation represent a critical step toward standardizing the AWS scale for the Italian population.