Measuring physical fitness in Persons with Severe/Profound ...

of these individuals require more? It is imperative and essential to investigate to which extent aperson with SPIMD really participates in living habits, ‘work’, leisure activities, sports etc. However,so far knowledge on this topic is not available neither are instruments aimed at investigating theconcept of participation in persons with SPIMD.RecommendationsThe vast majority of recommendations for future research have been mentioned previouslyeitherunder the studied concepts or in general findings. These however all amount to a call fortailored interventions. Interventions aiming at promoting physical fitness are generally carriedout with participants suffering from mild or moderate ID. Performing similar interventions withparticipants classified as having severe or profound ID is thought to be more difficult, firstlybecause of the assumption that most of these persons are not able to walk, and secondly becausethese persons have more problems understanding the tasks required of them. We recommenddeveloping, performing and evaluating tailored interventions geared to promote physical activityand fitness in persons with severe or profound ID who may or may not be able to walk. Asenvironmental cues facilitate performance in persons with SPIMD, examining environmental cuesprovided by technological adaptations, like auditive or other pleasant sensory stimuli can be ofsignificant help.As knowledge on the concept of participation of individuals with SPIMD is lacking, furtherresearch should aim on feasible instruments to identify and quantify outcome measures ofparticipation. Furthermore, research aimed on exploring the relations between physical fitnessand physical activity on one side, and participation on the other, is recommended.Previous paragraphs have discussed the shortcomings, questions and suggestions that cameup during the various studies comprised by this thesis. This thesis functions as a basic first step toenhance and strenghten the role of physical activity and fitness for this target group, by enablingsound academic testing of physical fitness. We strongly advocate to consider the major rolephysical activity and fitness can play in well-being.Chapter 9 | 147