Introduction: Arm function of wheelchair users is essential to perform activities of daily living efficiently. The Short Form of the Wheelchair Seated Arm Function Test (WS-AFT-SF) was developed to evaluate the arm function of wheelchair users; the time taken by a subject seated in a wheelchair to move plastic bottles and dry cell batteries back and forth and side to side on a table, using their dominant hand, is measured. Since some wheelchair users have difficulty performing the WS-AFT-SF tasks due to reduced arm function, simplification of the tasks is required.
Objectives: To develop a simplified version of WS-AFT-SF (SV), which consists of tasks that are easier to complete than those of the original version of WS-AFT-SF (SF).
Methods: Four 500 ml plastic bottles and four AA dry cell batteries were used as test items in the SF, but were reduced to two of each in the SV. The participant lifted the test items and moved them through the air in the SF, whereas the participant slid them across the desk in the SV. Eleven healthy adults (21.2 ± 0.6 years old) completed the SF and SV tasks and the correlation between the total time required for each task was compared using Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficient.
Results: The total time required for SF and the total time for SV task were significantly positively correlated (r = 0.658, p < 0.05).
Conclusion: SV, a simplified version of the SF, could be applicable to the evaluation of arm function of wheelchair users who have difficulty performing the SF.