title: The interrater reliability of the modified gait abnormality rating scale for use with people with intellectual disability.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Researching falls in persons with ID is limited by difficulties in applying standardised balance outcome measures. The modified Gait Abnormality Rating Scale (GARS-M), developed to identify falls risk in older adults, requires only that the participant walks and thus may be a feasible falls research tool to use with people with ID. In the present study, we consider the interrater reliability of the GARS-M.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nine people with ID were videotaped walking. These recordings were used by 10 physiotherapists to rate the person's walking on the 7 categories of the GARS-M. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated for the physiotherapists' scores in each category and the total score; ICC >or= 0.7 indicating good interrater reliability.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The ICC was greater than 0.7 in only one category of the GARS-M, but ICC = 0.85 for the total score. Average time to rate one person was 8 minutes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The GARS-M is potentially useful for falls prevention research with people with ID.
authors.affiliation: REAL Neurology Research Group, Centre for Physiotherapy Research, University of Otago, New Zealand. leigh.hale@otago.ac.nz
authors.forename: Leigh
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hale
authors.forename: Lucy
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: McIlraith
authors.forename: Clare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Terri
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stanley-Clarke
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: George
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009520:New Zealand; D015588:Observer Variation; D004856:Postural Balance; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014741:Video Recording