Adapting Swim Lessons for Children with Special Needs

As a swim instructor and caretaker of special needs children, I would always recommend that every child learns to swim regardless of their disability. For children with special needs, one on one private home lessons can be an excellent way to meet the client’s individual needs.Although not all special needs children will face the same challenges, they will all have unique obstacles that they can overcome in the water with the help of a trained instructor.

Challenges Aren’t Weaknesses

My experience has mainly been with a range of children with ADD, downs syndrome, autism, and physical disabilities. Each one of these children had their own strengths and challenges to face. For children with ADD, a private setting is often best because it limits the distraction of other children. It can also be helpful to focus on learning through games instead of via a strict structured learning environment. I find that the use of educational games in the pool can work just as well as regular structured lessons especially for children who may not learn in traditional ways. I have also found that patience is key when working with special needs children.

Diverse and Individualized Learning

In the case of some of my clients with autism, some loved the water but struggled with verbal communication, while others were fearful and had difficulty coping with change. Each of these amazing kids taught me more about myself and furthered my skills as an instructor by forcing me to reexamine how I teach lessons and really individualizing lesson plans. It would be difficult to write out a standard suggestion for special needs swim lessons, because each child is so diverse in their needs.

Find Your Match

Overall I would say the key to successful lessons is finding the right match. Find an instructor who is passionate, but also patient. Some children tend to have a preference of what gender instructor they are more comfortable with or what age. A good special needs instructor should be flexible and willing to think outside the box to come up with solutions to your child’s individual challenges. Not everyone is confident in their ability to work with special needs children, so make sure the instructor you choose has experience, or is willing to give it 110%. It is also always helpful to give a new instructor an overview of your child’s diagnosis, as well as insight into them as an individual and what their diagnosis means for them. In summary, learning to swim is something that can be modified for every individual, you just need to find the right fit.

About the Author: Megan Rotatori
Megan Rotatori is a senior nursing student at the University of Vermont. She has been a swim instructor for seven years and a lifeguard for four. Megan grew up involved in competitive swimming, and always had a great love for the pool and the ocean. She is passionate about working with kids, and specializes in working with children with disabilities and special needs.