No abstract

Despite greater oxidative stress and lower insulin sensitivity, the DS group involved in our study did not display clear metabolic abnormalities. The young age and lifestyle of this group might, partially, have accounted for this apparently healthy metabolic status.

No abstract

In this study the ability of elite table tennis players with intellectual disability (ID) to adapt their service/return to specific ball spin characteristics was investigated. This was done by examining the performance of 39 players with ID and a reference group of 8 players without ID on a standardized table tennis specific test battery. The battery included 16 sets of 15 identical serves that had to be returned to a fixed target, and two additional tests measuring reaction time and upper limb speed. A 2 × 4 ANOVA (with group and type of spin as independent variables) with repeated measurements (15 consecutive returns) supported the hypothesis that elite table tennis players with ID were significantly less proficient than their counterparts without ID, but both groups demonstrated a comparable progression in learning. Spearman correlation coefficients indicated a positive relationship between accuracy of return and upper limb speed (rho = 0.42: p < .05) and reaction time (rho = 0.41: p < .05), showing that these generic factors are useful in partially explaining skill variations in specific sports.

Although motor problems are highly prevalent in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), they remain underdiagnosed. Questionnaire-based screening for motor problems could optimize current clinical practice. This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the developmental coordination disorder questionnaire (DCDQ) to screen for co-occurring motor problems in individuals with ASD (n = 115; aged 5-15 years). Results indicated an excellent internal consistency; concurrent and discriminant validity with the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, second edition. Sensitivity was excellent, but specificity was lower. The positive and negative predictive values indicate that the DCDQ can be used to detect motor problems in children with ASD and can exclude the presence of developmental coordination disorder.

Purpose. To understand how athletes invest their energy over a race, differences in pacing ability between athletes with and without intellectual impairment (II) were explored using a novel field test. Methods. Well-trained runners (n=67) participated in this study, including 34 runners with II (age = 24.4 ± 4.5 years; IQ = 63.1 ± 7.7) and 33 runners without II (age = 31.4 ± 11.2 years).The ability to perform at a pre-planned submaximal pace was assessed. Two 400m running trials were performed on an athletics track, with an individually standardized velocity. In the first trial, the speed was imposed by auditory signals given in 20m-40m intervals, in combination with coach-feedback during the initial 200m. The participant was instructed to maintain this velocity without any feedback during the final 200m. In trial 2, no coach-feedback was permitted.Results. Repeated measures analyses revealed a significant between-groups effect. II-runners deviated more from the target time than runners without II. The significant trial x group interaction effect (F = 4.15, p<.05) revealed that the ability to self-regulate the pace during the final 200m improved for runners without II (Trial 1: 1.7 ± 1.0s, Trial 2: 0.9 ±0.8s) whereas the II-runners deviated even more in Trial 2 (4.4 ± 4.3s), than in Trial 1 (3.2 ± 3.9s). Conclusion.Our findings support the assumption that intellectual capacity is involved in pacing. It is demonstrated that II-runners have difficulties maintaining a preplanned submaximal velocity, and this study contributes to understanding problems II-exercisers might experience when exercising. With this field test, we can assess the impact of II on pacing and performance in individual athletes which will lead to a fair Paralympic classification-procedure.

Basketball for athletes with intellectual impairment (II) requires the development of evidence-based eligibility systems to guarantee that only athletes with significant limitations performing basketball participate in these competitions. In addition, this is needed to re-include IIbasketball in the Paralympic program. To do this, it is required to investigate how II impacts on fundamental basketball activities. To address this need, the aim of this study was to compare ablebodied (AB) and II-players´ capacity to solve a game situation. A field test was designed ad hoc in which 38 elite II-players from France, Portugal, Australia and Japan who participated in the Global Games (2015) and 38 AB-basketball players competing in Spanish competitions, had to solve 8 standardized game situations. Results indicated that II-players spent significantly (p≤0.05) more time to decide (0.92±0.2s) than AB-players (0.63±0.1s) and to execute the solution (II: 3.01±0.4s; AB: 2.56±0.3s). Also, II-players made more rule infractions (II: 7.11±1.4; AB: 7.71±0.7), more feints (II: 1.37±1.4; AB: 0.3±0.6), more dribbles (II: 15.08±3.9; AB: 12.29±2.3) and they performed less successful solutions (II: 4.42±1.5; AB: 5.39±1.3). However, no differences were found in number of correct decisions made. Decision time, number of dribbles and situations in which they succeeded were the variables that best discriminated between II and AB-players. These results confirmed the negative influence of II on players´ capacity to solve a basketball game situation. The calculated discriminant function let us establish the minimum scores from this test that indicates significant limitations on the capacity to solve a game situation. These scores are applicable to determine eligibility criteria in IIbasketball worldwide. Keywords: Classification, eligibility systems, Paralympics, decision making. Influencia de la discapacidad intelectual (DI) en la capacidad de los jugadores de baloncesto para resolver una situación de juego: hacia los sistemas de clasificación basados en la evidencia en baloncesto-DI RESUMEN:El baloncesto para personas con discapacidad intelectual (DI) requiere del desarrollo de sistemas de elegibilidad basados en la evidencia que garanticen la participación en estas competiciones únicamente de deportistas con limitaciones significativas para practicar baloncesto. Además, esto es

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.