Psychomotor profile of elderly with Intellectual Disabilities: a comparison study with typical elders and with Alzheimer Disease
People with intellectual disability (ID) are living longer, creating new challenges in rehabilitation services. With a longer longevity, the risk of dementia is expected to increase also within this emerging group. The ageing process of persons with ID and the best program planning is a quite recent area of research and in psychomotor field there is a major need to better understand this process. This study aims to evaluate and analyze the psychomotor competences of elderly with Intellectual Disability (ID) through a comparison study with typical peers and elders with Alzheimer Disease (AD). The Portuguese version of Éxamen Geronto-Psychomoteur (EGP) was applied to 118 participants, between 45 and 94 (67.68±13.09) years-old, divided in three groups: 39 typical elders, 41 elderly with AD and 38 individuals with ID. Findings showed significant differences in psychomotor domains between participants with ID and typical peers, except in Balance and Fine Motor Skills of Lower Limbs. There were no statistically differences between participants with ID and AD in Static Balance II, Fine Motor Skills of Upper Limbs, Praxis, Knowledge of Body Parts, Vigilance, Perceptive Memory, Communication, Spatial and Temporal Domains. Elders with ID tend to present the lowest results in most domains. The identification of a psychomotor profile as well the relative role of ID and a comorbid disorder (e.g.: dementia) will contribute to more adequate decisions regarding proper services and interventions strategies.
