Power of Transitions for Special Needs Swimmers by Improving Your Engagement and Interaction

What do you do when your swimmer overreacts, panics or refuses to transition from one activity to another?

As swim instructors, we often encounter challenges when working with special needs swimmers who struggle with transitions and those who show resistance towards engaging and interacting with us.

At Swim Angelfish, we understand that every swimmer is unique, and overcoming these obstacles requires a tailored approach. By applying the Swim Whisperers methodology, we can identify the correct strategies to help swimmers overcome their challenges.

In this blog, we discuss one of the 7 areas of focus we identified as ‘Transitions’ and one of the 14 most common roadblocks we identified as ‘Interaction and Engagement Difficulties’. We share advice on how swim instructors can help their swimmers to be more successful when facing these obstacles.

Identifying the Challenge: Transitions

Transitions play a crucial role because they involve moving from one activity to another, whether it’s entering or exiting the water, changing strokes, or transitioning between different areas of the pool. For some swimmers, transitions can be overwhelming and disruptive. One of the biggest differences between special needs adaptive swimming and typical swim lessons is that many special needs swimmers have daily difficulties with transitions.

Having a transition plan and adapting your approach for each swimmer will help you achieve successful transitions and will help swimmers feel more at ease. Being able to assess body language and interpreting nonverbal cues is crucial when helping swimmers with special needs.

Identifying the Roadblock: Engagement and Interaction Difficulty

How can you teach someone to swim if you can’t even get them to engage or attend to what you’re doing? Swimmers who struggle with social skills and/or anxiety can often demonstrate a lack of engagement and interaction with their swim instructor. This may manifest in avoidance behaviors such as disinterest, avoiding eye contact, or even verbal and physical resistance.

Understanding what works best for your student by talking to their parent, caregiver or therapist will give insight into their behaviors and will help you to adapt your approach, to encourage a positive experience.

Swim Whisperers® Strategies to Help Transitions and Promote Engagement

Let’s take a deeper dive and explore how to apply the Swim Whisperers® strategies when facing a challenge with transitions and interaction with a student. In this video, we meet an individual with Fragile X syndrome who loves to come to the pool but can have a hard time with transitions. Our swimmer also experiences social challenges, which impact the interaction and engagement with his swim instructor. Cindy shares that by adapting your approach, you can help swimmers to overcome these obstacles.

To learn about how one of our Swim Angelfish parents is impacting and inspiring the Fragile X community, check out his inspiring story on our Instagram Reels.

Overcoming challenges with transitions as well as interaction and engagement requires a thoughtful and individualized approach to swim instruction. By applying the Swim Whisperers® methodology, instructors who are certified can identify the correct strategies to help swimmers overcome these obstacles.

Try Our Top Tips for Easing Transitions: 

  • Set a timer so your swimmer can anticipate the end of a particular exercise or task.
  • Use a game of ‘hide and seek’ to get a resistant swimmer out of the pool.
  • Try taking a ride on the chairlift for swimmers that are mobile but just don’t like to get out of the pool.

Every swimmer has the potential to succeed, and with the right support and guidance, they can embrace the joy and benefits of swimming.

Looking for Aquatic Therapist Training?

We can give you the tools you need to help special needs clients achieve therapy goals and improve their independence in the water.

Learn new treatment and handling techniques, understand how to integrate reflexes and overcome roadblocks to help your pediatric clients achieve their therapy goals. We have 4 in-depth online courses to choose from.

Our online training courses will help you strengthen your aquatic therapy skills and allow you to earn CEU’s. Our on-demand platform makes learning flexible to fit into your schedule.

Dive into Our Specialized Pediatric Aquatic Therapy Program!

The unique program that Swim Angelfish offers is created by an OT/PT team with over 60 years combined experience. We have experienced Recreation, Occupational, and Physical therapists who are specifically trained in pediatric aquatic therapy. We use a fun, innovative and multi-sensory approach using the therapeutic properties of the water to reach your specific therapy goals.

We can help improve self-regulation, motor coordination, strength, balance, endurance, and more. There are several options for therapy sessions depending on your needs, including private, semi-private, and small group sessions.

Ailene Tisser, MA, PT, Founder

Ailene is a pediatric Physical Therapist with more than 25 years of experience treating a variety of diagnoses, both in and out of the water. She is NDT (Neuro-Developmental Treatment) trained in pediatrics and is trained in DIR/Floortime. She is currently certified as an Autism Specialist by IBCCES. Ailene brings all of her Physical Therapy expertise into the water, where she helps children of all abilities feel safe, confident, and independent. She combines her passion and skill for working with children with special needs with the therapeutic properties of the water to achieve amazing results. She enjoys sharing her knowledge and experience by educating other Aquatic Professionals so that they can also make a significant impact on the lives of swimmers with special needs.

Cindy Freedman, MOTR, Founder

Cindy is a recreational therapist and an Occupational therapist. After working for ten years as a recreational therapist in a variety of settings, she pursued a Master’s degree in OT. Her career as an OT includes specialty training in sensory integration, reflex repatterning, and aquatics. She is currently certified as an Autism Specialist by IBCCES. As a swimmer and national champion diver, Her love of the water combined with her education and work experience created them an opportunity for Swim Angelfish to become a reality! “Our mission is to create an aquatic community of trained instructors so that together we can decrease the alarming statistic of drowning being the leading cause of death for children with special needs.”