It is supposed that visually-impaired people tend to limit their free physical activities because of safety. It is important that visually-impaired people have opportunities to do sport and physical activities for promotion of their physical fitness and improvement of their quality of life. In this paper, the actual condition and issues to be settled for promotion of sports and physical activities of visually-impaired people in Japan were reviewed by reports and findings of various aspects; the physical fitness level of visually-impaired people, actual condition of sport and physical activities in the educational institution, physiological effects of the ball game sports which are specific for visually impaired people. Also, recently there are new trials for playing interesting events. And there are reports which are considering how to guide blind runners or skiers, and the development of assistive materials through which visually-impaired people can know the movement of sporting devices flying in the air. How sighted people should work to promote the sport activities of visually-impaired people is also discussed.

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The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of wearing a cooling jacket and drinking water on thermoregulatory responses during arm cranking exercise in individuals with spinal cord injury (ISCI). Six males with paraplegia (L1-Th6) exercised for 30min at 20 watts in a hot environment (33℃, 80% relative humidity) under three separate conditions: no drinking (ND), drinking water (D), and combination of drinking water and wearing a cooling jacket (DJ). Tympanic membrane temperature (Tty), skin temperature and heart rate were continuously monitored. Although in all conditions Tty increased during exercise, the rate of increase was smallest in DJ. Significant difference was noted between ND and DJ for Tty (P<0.05). The arm and thigh skin temperature were also lower in DJ in comparison to ND and D. Total sweat loss in ND and D (300g) was significantly greater than those in DJ (190g) (P<0.05). Heart rate in DJ significantly decreased at the end of exercise compared to ND. These results indicated that combination of drinking water and wearing a cooling jacket yielded an attenuated thermoregulatory and circulatory strain in ISCI.

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The purpose of this study was to identify the levels of satisfaction and needs of the users of sports centers that are established exclusively for people with physical challenges. Two centers were studied: one located in Hiroshima (H) Prefecture which was established in 1996 and has many regular users, and another one located in Tokushima (T) Prefecture which has been established in April 2006. A questionnaire survey was carried out at both centers during the period extending from May to August 2007. It was either administered via interview or by collecting the completed questionnaire sheets at later times. A total of 201 valid responses were obtained, consisting of 101 responses from H Prefecture and 100 responses from T Prefecture. In both H and T Prefectures, approximately 70% of the respondents selected swimming and weight training as their preferred choices of sports activities. As to the number of years during which respondents have been engaged in sports activities, 52.5% of the respondents in H Prefecture selected "three or more years" as their answers, and 33% of the respondents in T Prefecture selected "one or less than a year". These results suggest that the center established only recently in T Prefecture is putting much effort in promoting sports activities among physically challenged people. The answers to the question about the reasons for using the center varied depending on the time at which the centers had been established, with "a friend's recommendation" being the most common answers among the respondents in H Prefecture, and "out of own free will" being the most common answers among the respondents in T Prefecture. Respondents in both prefectures replied that they were comfortable with the intensity and content of the sports activities available at the respective center. Respondents in H Prefecture experienced more psychological benefits of sports activities than their counterparts in T Prefecture. This could be due to the fact that respondents in H Prefecture had played sports for longer periods of time and were therefore more comfortable with sports activities. This questionnaire survey has revealed that sports activities provide physically challenged individuals with opportunities to share their problems and talk freely about things that worry them with others who suffer from similar afflictions.

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This study aims to examine the characteristics of motor imagery function in children with Down's syndrome (DS children: age9.6±1.9, IQ52.3±10.4, total10). After a series of bodily movements being presented for them and the normal school aged children, this study required for them to select cards where a series of movement was drawn appropriately, and to express a series of it. The author categorized the participants into the four groups which were the DS group, a lower grade (age7.5±0,08, total38), a middle grade (age9.5±0.08, total36), and a higher grade (age11.5±0.08, total38) and compared each group. The results showed that the rate of the maximum card misidentification in the DS group exposed further from the groups of normal children. Therefore, the undeveloped body schema, short term memory and sequential processing in the DS group might reflect this factor.

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According to the basic motor ability model (Nagasaki et al, 1995) constructed of three factors (walking, balance, and hand power), a 7-item physical performance test (grip strength, tapping, one-leg standing with eyes open and with eyes closed, beam walking, preferred speed walking and maximum speed walking) was administered to 181 adults with intellectual disabilities (age 18-68 years). Factor analysis and multiple regression analysis were used. Results were as follows: (1) The three factors of walking function, balance function and hand function were shown by factor analysis. (2) The walking function related to IQ and presence/absence of Down Syndrome. The subjects with higher IQ demonstrated a better walking function score. The subjects with Down Syndrome showed lower walking function. (3) The balance function involved IQ, presence/absence of Down Syndrome, and presence/absence of autism. The subjects with higher IQ also demonstrated a better walking function score. The subjects with autism revealed higher function, and with Down Syndrome lower. (4) The hand function related to IQ and sex. The subjects with higher IQ also revealed a better hand function score. Male subjects showed higher functions. This study determined characteristics of motor ability in persons with intellectual disabilities and some related factors.

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At the present day, person with intellectual disabilities today may take part in a variety of specially adapted sports programs. Although parents may join with their children in sport programs, the benefits these parents experience are not well understood. This study evaluated the mental health status, pre- to post-participation, of parents who joined a sport program (comprised of seven sessions) adapted for individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families. Nine parental participants were recruited. Except for the final session, each six sessions included a warm-up exercise, three kinds of table tennis training periods, a cool-down exercise, evaluation meeting, and rest breaks between divisions of the session. The three kinds of table tennis training periods brought together (a) children with parents; (b) children with coaches; and (c) parents with parents, respectively. The parents were rated before and after the whole program by a depression-anxiety score, measured in accordance with the Stress Response Scale (SRS-18; Suzuki et al., 1997). This study did not detect potential benefits of mental health, from this adapted sport program, for the parents who took part.

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Recently, many individuals with disabilities have begun to participate in various exercises and sports. Sports instructors for the disabled need to consider the latter's personal background, conditioning, and psychological and nutritive aspects as well as their physical strength for training and their movement skills. The purpose of this study was to research such sports instructors' knowledge of and anxiety over their own instruction and conditioning skills and the psychological and nutritive aspects of sports instruction for the disabled. The experienced sports instructors scored higher than their inexperienced counterparts in terms of their level of knowledge concerning the conditioning and psychological aspects of sports instruction for the disabled. In addition, it was found that the inexperienced sports instructors were anxious that their requirements were insufficient. Many sports instructors also believed that training was required to acquire the skills necessary to instruct and support individuals with disability. Finally, it was suggested that training sessions should be organized to impart knowledge on the conditioning and psychological aspects of sports instruction so that inexperienced sports instructors could further develop their requirements.

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The present study investigated whether a group of 50 Japanese young children identified as having developmental coordination disorder (DCD) could be classified into subtypes based on their performances on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC). MABC consists of 8 items with the child's performance; fine motor items ("Posting Coins", "Threading Beads", "Bicycle Trail (pencil control)", and "Catching Bean Bag") and gross motor items ("Rolling Ball into Goal", "One-leg Balance (open eyes)", "Jumping over Cord", and "Walking Heels Raised"). The multiple discriminant analysis identified three subtypes of Japanese young children with DCD: one was gross motor difficulties dominance, a second subtype was fine motor difficulties dominance, and a third displayed only severe fine motor problems. Although gender difference was no significant, proportion of boy was relatively large on a first subtype, and, on contrary, it has a lot of girls on both a second and a third subtype.

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Aiming for use as an introduction to an exercise program or part of a home-visit program, this study explored a quick and easy method for the self-efficacy of physical fitness in relation to actual measurements. The subjects were 70- to 84-year-old elderly people living in Y Town of T City (intervention group) or in O Town (control), both located in the northern part of Miyagi Prefecture, who had participated in both an interview and physical tests in 2003 and 2005 (n=1,240 in the intervention group and 742 in control). The interview involved a questionnaire for the self-efficacy of physical fitness (9 items, each with 4 options), Motor fitness scale, and TMIG Index of Competence, whereas the physical fitness test consisted of grip strength, sitting forward extension, standing up from a long sitting position, the timed up and go test, 5-meter walking, and standing on one leg with the eyes open. At the baseline, a number of significant partial correlations (corrected for age and gender) were observed between self-efficacy scores and physical fitness test. Among the elderly with increased self-efficacy scores, a significant interaction (F=6.33, p<0.05) was identified in two-way ANOVA of scores for sitting forward extension before and after intervention in the intervention group. The elderly with decreased self-efficacy scores, an analysis of scores for standing up from a long sitting position showed that the interaction before and after intervention were significant (F=31.95, p<0.01). These results suggested that the self-efficacy of physical fitness is expected to serve as a method to estimate the actual level of physical fitness. Further research should be conducted with a consideration of factors such as the frequency of participating in a fall prevention program.

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Education systems for the disabled have been undergoing significant changes in moving toward the ideals of normalization and inclusion. In recent years, many students with various disabilities are being included in regular city schools in Berlin. Especially, the Flaming Grundschule (primary school), which began experimental integrated education in 1975, is well known as an inclusive school in Germany. This article reports the relation of the practice of sport class for children with and without disabilities at Flaming primary school and a municipal course of study in Berlin. All regular sport classes conducted inclusive sport. In order to maximize the ability of children and achieve a standard environment for sport class, the Flaming primary school was organized around collaborative practices that engage peers, and fully embrace the tenets of inclusive education among the municipal course of study in Berlin. It was observed that teachers assist children themselves with special arrangements with respect to methods, rules, and equipment to encourage their participation in physical activities for inclusive sport class.

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This report compiled an episode of care from medical management and rehabilitation training about the onset experience of the cerebral infarction of author oneself. The author showed the thought of the outlook on health of one of the author based on what author experienced by a process of medical care and the rehabilitation training.

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