Motor Control Test responses to balance perturbations in adults with an intellectual disability.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The aims of this small exploratory study were to determine (1) whether adults with intellectual disability who had a recent history of falling had slower motor responses to postural perturbations than a sample of adults without disability when measured with the Motor Control Test (MCT) and (2) to identify any learning effects associated with the test. METHODS: A sample of 7 adults with intellectual disability (58 +/- 12 years) and 13 adults without disability (49 +/- 6 years) were tested three times over the period of one week. RESULTS: The mean response latency for participants with intellectual disability was 158 +/- 18 ms and for the control participants was 140 +/- 13 ms. No evidence was found for a learning effect with repeated testing. CONCLUSION: Some adults with an intellectual disability, who have a history of falling, may have delayed responses to postural perturbations and this impairment could be targeted in physiotherapy interventions aimed at improving balance capabilities and preventing falls.