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We examined barriers to and facilitators of sports participation in people with visual impairments. Participants registered at Royal Visio, Bartiméus, and the Eye Association were invited to complete a questionnaire (telephone or online). Six hundred forty-eight of the invited participants (13%) completed the questionnaire, and 63% of the respondents reported sports participation. Walking (43%), fitness (34%), and cycling (34%) were frequently mentioned sports. Costs, lack of peers/buddies, and visual impairment were negatively associated with sports participation, whereas higher education and computer (software) use were positively associated. The most important personal barrier was visual impairment; transport was the most important environmental barrier. Active participants also mentioned dependence on others as a personal barrier. The most important personal facilitators were health, fun, and social contacts; support from family was the most important environmental facilitator. To improve sports participation in people with visual impairments, the emphasis in a sports program should be on the positive aspects of sports, such as fun, health, and social contacts.

Qualitative inquiry is increasingly being used in adapted physical activity research, which raises questions about how to best evaluate its quality. This article aims to clarify the distinction between quality criteria (the what) and strategies (the how) in qualitative inquiry. An electronic keyword search was used to identify articles pertaining to quality evaluation published between 1995 and 2012 (n = 204). A five phase systematic review resulted in the identification of 56 articles for detailed review. Data extraction tables were generated and analyzed for commonalities in terminology and meanings. Six flexible criteria for gauging quality were formulated: reflexivity, credibility, resonance, significant contribution, ethics, and coherence. Strategies for achieving the established criteria were also identified. It is suggested that researchers indicate the paradigm under which they are working and guidelines by which they would like readers to evaluate their work as well as what criteria can be absent without affecting the research value.

The main purpose of our study was to quantify, by using accelerometry, daily physical activity (PA) in adults with visual impairments. Sixty-three adults (34.9% women) who are blind (18–65 years) wore an accelerometer for at least 3 days (minimum of 10 hr per day), including 1 weekend day. Nineteen participants (~30%) reached the recommendation of 30 min per day of PA, when counting every minute of moderate or greater intensity. No one achieved that goal when considering bouts of at least 10 min. No differences were found between genders in PA measures. Chronological age, age of blindness onset, and body mass index were not associated with PA. We conclude that adults who are blind have low levels of PA and are considerably less active compared with the general population. Health promotion strategies should be implemented to increase daily PA for people with visual impairments.

The purpose of this study was to investigate what adapted physical activity (APA) students learn from their practicum experiences. One cohort of APA students participated, and data were generated from an action research project that included observations, reflective journals, and a focus group interview. The theoretical framework for the study was Dewey’s and Wackerhausen’s theories of reflections. The findings show the objects of students’ reflections, the kind of conceptual resources they draw on while reflecting, and their knowledge interests. In addition, two paradoxes are identified: the tension between reflecting from and on own values, and how practicum as a valued experience of reality can become too difficult to handle. In conclusion, we reflect on how practicum learning can be facilitated.

Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly (APAQ) currently mandates that authors use person-first language in their publications. In this viewpoint article, we argue that although this policy is well intentioned, it betrays a very particular cultural and disciplinary approach to disability: one that is inappropriate given the international and multidisciplinary mandate of the journal. Further, we contend that APAQ’s current language policy may serve to delimit the range of high-quality articles submitted and to encourage both theoretical inconsistency and the erasure of the ways in which research participants self-identify. The article begins with narrative accounts of each of our negotiations with disability terminology in adapted physical activity research and practice. We then provide historical and theoretical contexts for person-first language, as well as various other widely circulated alternative English-language disability terminology. We close with four suggested revisions to APAQ’s language policy.

This cross-sectional study investigated the correlates of body mass index (BMI) and risk factors for overweight among 91 children with motor delay (MD) aged 9–73 months. Anthropometric measurements and questionnaires regarding multiple risk factors were obtained. Simple correlations between BMI percentile classifications and potential predictors were examined using Spearman’s rank/Pearson’s correlations and χ² analysis. Multiple predictors of overweight were analyzed using logistic regression. BMI was correlated positively with higher caloric intake (r_s = .21, p < .05) and negatively with passive activity (r_s = -.21, p < .05). When multiple predictors were considered, more severe dysphagia (odds ratio [OR], 2.81, p = .027, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.13–7.04) and antiepileptic drug use (OR, 19.12, p = .008, 95% CI, 2.14–170.81) had significant partial effects on overweight status. Agencies supporting early development should consider caregiver education regarding the potential implication of feeding style and medication on BMI.