A sense of direction may be programmed into the DNA. In 2012, neuroscience researchers found a sense of direction in people with epilepsy and called them grid cells; in 2010 a sense of direction was found to be innate in baby rats. These advances support a brain / DNA foundation for a sense of direction.
Pathways & Posture
With a cognitive disability, a sense of direction seems to take the simplest form with linear information. The start may be an intuitive sense of a line that goes along a hallway from one room to another, and the person follows that intuitive sense. The curious observation is that there is no sense of direction, line or pathway that people seem to follow within ACL 2.4. Walking within ACL 2.4 looks like aimless, random wandering because there aren't any lines or turns in their pathways. Within ACL 2.6, walking follows a pattern of moving beside the walls or around the perimeter of the room. As we watch them walk, we can find a pathway that guides the route they are taking, which is often repeated over and over again.
Postural differences may exist too. When people think they know where they are going, their posture looks straighter, and they may glance up and down to check the floor and where they are going. We should make videotapes to see if we could get inter-rater reliability on the pathway and postural differences. Even when they are headed in the wrong direction, there may differences in their postures, head movements and pathways.
Scooting Over
With a physical disability, the sense of direction makes it possible to understand how to use a sliding board and scoot over. Attention to linear information provides a sense of direction that makes it possible for them to scoot over on a couch, in bed, on a bathtub bench, or in a car because scooting over follows a line.