Feasibility of eight physical fitness tests in 1,050 older adults with intellectual disability: results of the healthy ageing with intellectual disabilities study.

The team tried eight common fitness tests on over 1,000 older adults with intellectual disability. They asked: can these people finish the tests without pain or help?

Tests included grip strength, balance, walking speed, and a short bike ride. Staff noted who could not start, who quit, and who needed extra help.

Most adults finished every test. Only two leg-strength tasks failed often for people with severe or profound ID and for wheelchair users.

The authors say the battery is “feasible” for clinical use, with simple swaps—like arm cranks instead of bike pedals—when needed.

Oppewal et al. (2014) and Oppewal et al. (2015) used the same test set one year later. They showed low scores on these same tests predict later trouble with dressing, cooking, and walking. So feasibility now links to real-life risk later.

Wouters et al. (2017) repeated the idea in children. They found the same tests work for kids with moderate–severe ID, proving the battery spans ages.

Oppewal et al. (2014) also looked at falls. After they counted past falls and Down syndrome status, the fitness scores no longer predicted new falls. This seems to clash with the 2014 ADL paper, but the difference is the outcome: fitness matters for daily skills, not for falls once history is known.

You now have a quick, eight-test toolkit that is doable in most day programs or group homes. Use it to spot older adults who may soon lose independence, then plug results into exercise plans or referral letters. Swap leg tasks for upper-body work when clients use wheelchairs or have profound ID—no need to skip the whole battery.