Study on the suitability of two test for the assessment of the range of motion in sedentary people with intellectual disabilities

Abstract

Introduction: People with intellectual disabilities (ID) show, in general, lower levels of physical fitness (PF) than people without disabilities. However, most of the test used for their assessment have been designed for the general population and do not show their suitability to be used with people with ID. Among the conditional capabilities, one of the most commonly assessed is the range of motion (ROM). The aim of this research was to assess the psychometric properties of the deep trunk flexion (DTF) and the sit and reach test (SAR) in people with mild-moderate ID in order to find out whether they are suitable for assessing this population. Method: The study was carried out with a test-retest design, in which 60 people with ID participated: 15 women (37.07±11.60 years) and 15 men (37.47±11.62) were randomly distributed to assess the DTF, and 15 women (36.87±11.72) and 15 men (36.40±8.57) were randomly distributed to assess the SAR. Reliability, feasibility, standard error of measurement (EEM) and minimum detectable change (MDC) were calculated to determine the suitability of both tests. Results: The reliability of the DTF and SAR was good to high. However, Bland-Altman plots showed biases for the SAR. The feasibility of the SAR was low, with less than 50% of participants performing the test correctly. The EEM and the MDC also showed higher variability for SAR with respect to the DTF. Conclusions: The DTF has been shown to be the more suitable of the two tests for the assessment of ROM in people with ID. However, future research should be oriented towards the creation of specific test for people with ID.