The high prevalence of postural instability in individuals with intellectual disability (ID) warrants the need for reliable and practical postural control assessments. Stabilometry is a postural ...control assessment that has been widely used for clinical populations. However, the scant systematic knowledge about the reliability of stabilometric protocols for adults with ID renders results questionable and limits its value for clinicians and researchers. The study's purpose was to develop a stabilometric protocol for adults with and without ID based on optimal combinations of shortest necessary trial durations and the least number of trial repetitions that guarantee sufficient reliability. Participants performed six trials of bipedal standing in 2 vision (eyes open vs eyes closed) x 2 surface (solid vs compliant) conditions on a force platform. Several parameters were calculated from the first 10-, 20-, and 30-s interval of every center-of-pressure (COP) trial data. For different trial durations, we identified the number of trials that yielded acceptable relative (intraclass correlation coefficient ≥ 0.70) and absolute (standard error of measurement < 20%) reliability using the Spearman-Brown prophecy formula. To determine the optimal combination of trial duration and number of repetition for each COP parameter, we implemented a two-step process: 1) identify the largest number of repetition for each of the three trial durations and then 2) select the trial duration with the lowest number of repetition. For both ID- and non-ID groups, we observed a trend whereby shorter trial durations required more repetitions and vice versa. The phase plane and ellipse area were the most and least reliable center-of-pressure parameter, respectively. To achieve acceptable reliability, four 30-s trials of each experimental condition appeared to be optimal for testing participants with and without ID alike. The results of this research can inform stabilometric test protocols of future postural control studies of adults with ID.
This study explored the association between intelligence and motor skills in children with ASD after controlling for Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and the associations between ...motor impairment and intellectual disability (ID) in this population. In total, 120 children with ASD (3–16 years; 81.7% boys) completed a standardized intelligence test, the Movement Assessment Battery for Children and Beery–Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration. Variance in performance IQ was associated with 20.8% of the variance in motor skills while significant associations were found between comorbid ID and motor impairment (ɸ = 0.304). Manual Dexterity and Balance are moderately influenced by performance IQ in children with ASD. Furthermore, presence of ID is also moderately associated with motor impairment in this population.
After the decision to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Games due to the COVID-19 pandemic, athletes had to adjust to a novel situation with feelings of uncertainty and insecurity. Grounded in ...Self-Determination Theory, this study was the first to examine whether different motivational profiles among Paralympic athletes can be identified, and to link these profiles with the athletes' emotional, cognitive, and performance-related outcomes in times of a pandemic.
Five months before the start of the Paralympic Games, the participants (
= 32; mean age = 33.2 ± 6.8 years) completed an online questionnaire measuring their demographics, basic psychological needs, perceived stress, depressive symptoms, general well-being, and motivational self-regulation strategies. Two months after the Games, they completed a second online questionnaire measuring their actual and perceived performance at the past Games.
Through K-means cluster analysis, three distinct clusters were identified based on the athletes' dominant type of motivation, these are, dominantly amotivated (
= 11), autonomously motivated (
= 12), and controlled motivated (
= 9). Comparisons of athletes' emotional, cognitive, and performance-related outcomes depending on their motivational profile revealed that the athletes with a dominantly amotivated profile had the least adaptive outcomes (i.e., low need satisfaction, high need frustration, and more depressive symptoms). Athletes with a dominantly autonomously motivated profile made less use of controlling self-motivating strategies compared to the other two profiles. Moreover, their actual performance at the Paralympic Games was better.
Although none of the athletes were at severe risk for depression or showed extremely high levels of stress, these results confirm that improving the quality of athletes' motivation can safeguard their well-being and enhance performance in Paralympic Sports.
Purpose
We investigated cognitive–motor multitasking in 29 top athletes with intellectual impairment (II) recruited during the European Championship Games organized by Virtus (World Intellectual ...Impairment Sports) and 29 control (CT) athletes matched for age, sex, sports practiced, and lifetime accumulated practice hours.
Methods
Participants performed a cognitive task that required recognizing previously displayed visual objects among distractors. The motor task required maintaining a stable upright posture balancing on a rocking board placed atop a force plate which assessed center‐of‐pressure (COP) movement. Both tasks were performed separately (with participants seated for the cognitive single task) and concurrently under dual‐task conditions, wherein participants memorized objects while balancing. We analyzed recognition accuracy, COP path length, and sample entropy of the COP trajectory as a measure for automaticity of postural control.
Results
As expected, CT‐athletes outperformed II‐athletes in the cognitive task but the two groups have comparable performance in the postural task under single‐ and dual‐task conditions. When multitasking, CT‐athletes switched to more automatic postural control and maintained their postural sway at single‐task levels. II‐athletes prioritized balance thereby successfully keeping COP excursion comparable to single‐task conditions. However, this came with pronounced costs for memory performance, which was unaffected by multitasking in CT‐athletes.
Conclusion
The adaptive capacity observed in control athletes was not at the disposal of II‐athletes who revealed pronounced sensitivities to multitasking interference. This sensitivity obviously was not compensated for by either athletic competence or potential transfer of athletic skill to domain‐general cognitive functions.
The present paper describes the conceptual basis of evidence-based classification of para-athletes with intellectual impairment (II). An extensive description of the theoretical and conceptual ...foundation of the system as currently conceived is provided, as are examples of its applications in the three sports included in the Paralympic programme for II-athletes in 2020 (i.e., athletics, swimming and table tennis). Evidence-based classification for II-athletes is driven by two central questions: i. How can intellectual impairment be substantiated in a valid and reliable way, and ii. Does intellectual impairment limit optimal sport proficiency? Evolution of the system and current best practice for addressing these questions are described, and suggestions for future research and development are provided. Challenges of understanding and assessing a complex (multifaceted and intersectional) impairment in the context of sport also are considered.
The aim of this study was to investigate the role of age and intellectual impairment (II) in decision-making in basketball. The current study investigated differences in decision making between ...equally well-trained adult basketball male players with intellectual impairment (players with II) (n = 93), adults without II (senior) (n = 44) and youth basketball players (under-14, n = 31; under-16, n = 25; under-18, n = 30). A computer test was developed composed by 20 photographs displaying various basketball game-situations, and participants had to decide as fast as possible what the player in ball possession should do: dribble, pass or shoot. Decision time and accuracy were recorded for every situation. Players with II had slower decision time (3.8 ± 1.8 s vs. 1.5 ± 0.5 s, p < 0.001) and less decision-making accuracy (15.7 ± 2.8 correct decisions vs. 17.9 ± 1.2 correct decisions, p < 0.001) compared to senior players without II. Discriminant analysis with speed and accuracy as independent variables classified 91.2% (CCA = 0.769) of the players correctly into their group: players with II or players without II. A Spearman correlation revealed that age correlated significantly (p < 0.001) with the number of correct decisions (rs = 0.269) and mean decision time (rs = −0.331). Our findings support that decision making in basketball develops with age and experience, but is significantly deteriorated in experienced adult players who have II. Decision-making should be considered as an important eligibility criterion to participate in competitive basketball events for male players with II.
Background
Athletes with intellectual disability represent a unique population who experiences the contrasting effects of cognitive deficits and benefits of sports on balance. This study investigated ...the combined impact of intellectual disability and sport practice on balance.
Method
Center‐of‐pressure excursion in bipedal stance of 2 disability (with and without intellectual disability) × 2 sport practice (athlete and novice) participant groups was measured in several balance conditions.
Results
Sport practice exerted no significant effect on any of the center‐of‐pressure measures used. In contrast, intellectual disability's effects on balance, which were most apparent in challenging balance conditions, were significant (p < .05) and had large effect sizes (ηp2 > 0.13).
Conclusion
The negative effects of cognitive deficits on the balance of young adults with intellectual disability underscore the need for effective interventions. Although findings did not support sports' balance‐remediating potential, the value of sport participation for individuals with intellectual disability cannot be fully dismissed just yet.
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