Sports facilities for people with disabilities are established in communities with the aim of promoting sports among people with disabilities and the elderly. This kind of facility is representative of sports centers for people with disabilities, and they are central facilities for providing adapted sports services in Japan. However, criteria for evaluating the services of human service organizations that have a welfare mission are unclear. For that reason, there are very few studies in which users evaluate the services provided by sports facilities for people with disabilities. Considering this situation, we outline here the development of a scale to evaluate adapted sports services based on the results of surveys in related fields. SERVQUAL is a scale to measure the quality of services provided by general service organizations. SERVQUAL is manipulated fluidly depending on the type of service provided. In evaluating the services of sports facilities for people with disabilities whose mission as an organization is to provide adapted sports services to people with disabilities, who are in a disadvantageous position in terms of sports activities, emphasis is placed on empathy. Sports facilities for people with disabilities have introduced appointment manager constitutions and are entering a transition phase. In this period, based on the mission of the organization, it is meaningful to investigate business challenges in the management of organizations from the perspective of subjective service evaluations by people with disabilities and the elderly.

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This study aimed to investigate the factorial structure of the physical fitness of male single-leg amputees (PSLAs) who have a positive, active lifestyle. It also aimed to develop a battery of tests for estimating the overall physical fitness level of PSLAs based on the factorial structure of physical fitness according to its feasibility in the field. Active male PSLAs (n=28; age=31.4±8.19) were examined. Twelve feasible items were selected using physical fitness components based on the International Committee for the Standardization of Physical Fitness Tests and previous PSALs studies. Factor analysis was applied to 13 variables that, in turn, comprised 12 variables on which a physical fitness test was performed; in addition, age variables were used to determine the factorial structure involved. Subsequently, multiple regression analysis was performed to obtain a linear regression equation using a representative variable of each factor in the factorial structures as an independent variable and a first-principal component obtained by principal component analysis using each variable as a dependent variable. For factorial structures, fundamental physical strength, trunk/lower-extremity function, instantaneous function and shoulder joint muscle strength were obtained. The results of the multiple regression analysis involved 4 above-mentioned variables (vital capacity, jump-step-test, 20-m sprint, and the extension force of the shoulder joint in the horizontal position); and the first principal component score of each subject from all variables provided a significant linear regression equation (r=0.758, p<0.01). Although this study was performed on 28 subjects, the representative measurement variables obtained from the factorial structures allowed the development of a battery of tests for estimating the overall physical fitness level of the PSLAs in the field.

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This study was undertaken to investigate temporal and spatial accuracy and consistency of manual rhythmic movement along a lateral direction of people with intellectual developmental disability (IDD). Subjects were 11 adults with mild or moderate IDD, 7 with severe or profoundly IDD, and 19 without any such disability (controls). Subjects moved their dominant arm repeatedly along a lateral direction (30cm) at 0.5Hz, 1Hz, 2Hz, and 3Hz. Scores of accuracy and consistency of rhythmic movement were calculated. Although the subjects without disability (controls) and with mild or moderate IDD showed temporal accuracy, subjects with severe or profoundly IDD showed no such tendency, except at 1Hz. The adults without disabilities (controls) and with mild or moderate IDD showed spatial accuracy at lower frequencies, but subjects with severe or profoundly IDD showed no such tendency. Regarding the rhythmic consistency of movement, a difference between the IDD types was clear for temporal variation, but not for spatial variation. The factors of frequency, the differences of accuracy and consistency, temporal and spatial variability, and the IDD types were discussed.

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The purpose of this study was to analyze the performance of standing long jump among persons with autism and Down syndrome by biomechanical methods. Fifteen male autism persons and 8 male Down syndrome persons participated in this study. The two styled standing long jumps by fixed both arms and free styled jump were performed. The performance was monitored by video camera, and the length of standing long jump and the load distribution using foot-scan were measured. As a result, in the length of standing long jump, there was not significant difference between autism and Down syndrome persons. However, the time from the full knee flexion position to the jump-point in Down syndrome persons was significantly longer than that in autism persons by fixed both arms and free styled jump (p<0.01). The maximum load in autism persons was significantly higher than that in Down syndrome persons by fixed both arms and free styled jump (p<0.01). From these results, the pattern of standing jump is different between autism and Down syndrome persons. Our study suggested that we should know these characteristics of motion when teaching the standing long jump among people with autism and Down syndrome.

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This study examined whether an alternate running ability could be gained by a unilateral short stump transfemoral amputee who ran with a hop-skip running technique, by teaching the subject an alternate running method based on research into an able-bodied person's running technique. The subject was an 18-year-old male transfemoral amputee student who had undergone amputation at the left thigh following a traffic accident at 6 years of age. His height was 164cm, his mass was 62kg (4.0kg of mass of the artificial leg was included), and his stump length (12.6cm) was 39.6% of the sound side (31.8cm). Isokinetic strength of the hip at 300deg./sec., on the amputated side was 50.8% of the sound side in flexion and 36.8% in extension. More than 12 years had passed since the amputation, and the subject had not yet achieved an alternate running ability with the artificial leg. By teaching the new method for about one hour, it was shown the alternate running without giving way by extension delay became possible. The reasons were 1) flexion resistance of the knee joint was not limited; 2) As a result, the flexion angle of the hip joint could move up to an angle near that on the sound side; 3) and, the knee joint worked with the movements of the hip joint.

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