title: Measuring joint hypermobility using the Beighton scale in children with intellectual disability.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the feasibility and reliability of using the 9-point Beighton Hypermobility Score (9-BHS) with youth with intellectual disabilities using a least to most prompting technique.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred one youth (5-18 years old) enrolled in the study. Two separate evaluations, separated by 3 to 4 weeks, were performed on 25 participants.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ninety assented to the test, and 85 performed all 9-BHS maneuvers. Scores were not significantly different for age and gender, but participants with Down syndrome had significantly higher scores. Test-retest scores showed 80% to 90% agreement (n = 25). Cohen kappa ranged from moderate (0.41-0.60) to perfect (1.0) for the 9 maneuvers, and an ICC of 0.88 was found for total scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results demonstrate that the use of the 9-BHS in youth with intellectual disabilities in the manner described is feasible and reliable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy (Dr Pitetti and Ms Miller), College of Health Professions, Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas; Department of Exercise Science (Dr Beets), Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia.
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pitetti
authors.forename: Ruth Ann
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Beets
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019988:Children with Disabilities; D004314:Down Syndrome; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability; D007593:Joint Instability / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D015203:Reproducibility of Results