Aquatic Therapists: Break Through Client Challenges with Swim Whisperers®

As aquatic physical, occupational or recreational therapists, we know firsthand the transformative power of aquatic therapy. The significant benefits that working in water provides for our clients, by leveraging its unique properties – buoyancy, viscosity, hydrostatic pressure, and temperature – help us to enhance therapeutic outcomes and complement land-based interventions.

Yet, despite this incredible environment, we still come across client challenges and often are at a loss to overcome them. Consider the client who experiences fear or anxiety when entering the water. Or perhaps you’ve encountered clients with auditory processing sensitivities or those who exhibit persistent sensory-seeking behaviors. Imagine the difficulty when a client struggles to achieve a supine position despite our application of established techniques learned from the Bad Ragaz Ring method or the Halliwick Approach and traditional aquatic therapy training courses. This presents a real dilemma, so what do you do then? How do you continue your therapy session and make consistent progress when obstacles like these are in your way?

If you’re seeking innovative strategies that go beyond traditional aquatic therapy techniques, the Swim Whisperers® training offers a pathway to success. We will explore the benefits of the Swim Whisperers® Method and how this certification program will provide you with a new toolbox of strategies and techniques to unlock the full potential of aquatic therapy for every client, regardless of their unique challenges.

A New Perspective: How Swim Whisperers® Transforms Your Aquatic Therapy

If the scenarios we’ve just described resonate with your experience, you’ll be excited to learn that the Swim Whisperers® method offers more than just a collection of new techniques. This certification will empower you to gain a new way of thinking about how to achieve your therapy goals in the water. It’s about understanding the underlying factors influencing your clients’ abilities and developing a more holistic and adaptable approach.

Here are three compelling reasons why this training will fundamentally expand your view of how to deliver aquatic therapy, ultimately improving outcomes and transforming your sessions:

  • Helps You Identify 14 Commonly Seen Roadblocks
    Are you finding yourself stuck, struggling to progress your aquatic therapy sessions and seeking to understand the underlying reasons why? Do you desire a different approach to overcome these challenges? Over the past 15 years, our OT/PT team has identified 14 of the most common obstacles encountered when working with individuals with special needs. These cover concepts such as water safety, ways of processing, inability to go on back to sensory seeking, engagement and interaction difficulty and so much more. Through this training, we provide you with a clear framework and targeted strategies to effectively address these roadblocks. Working within your scope of practice, you will learn specific techniques and movement patterns directly related to each roadblock, gaining a deeper understanding of the science behind them.
  • Provides an ‘Areas of Focus’ Framework to Help You Manage Your Sessions Effectively
    How do you decide when to use equipment or how to best support clients exhibiting sensory seeking or avoiding behaviors in the water? This training program provides a clear ‘Areas of Focus’ framework, offering you a roadmap for seamlessly integrating your therapy goals with a practical formula to follow for effective decision-making and intervention. We also dive deeper into effective equipment use and how choosing and using appropriate equipment can transform your therapy sessions.
  • Empowers Improved Progression and Pacing of Therapy Sessions
    Do you sometimes find yourself wondering what to do next and how to maintain consistent progress with your aquatic therapy plans? This training dives into multi-sensory video case studies that clearly demonstrate client movement in the water, both with and without equipment support. For instance, if you’re working with a client who resists touch in the water, yet continuously seeks the water in potentially unsafe ways, you’ll gain tools to safely progress them toward therapeutic movements that enhance self-regulation. Similarly, for physically impaired clients, you’ll develop a deeper understanding of how to effectively pace movements in the water, leveraging its properties to achieve your therapy goals.

Achieve New Levels of Progress for Your Pediatrics Clients

If you work with clients of any age and any diagnosis who experience those very roadblocks we’ve discussed – fear, sensory sensitivities, difficulty with body control or how to position yourself or your student for the best outcomes – then the Swim Whisperers® method offers time tested real relatable and easy-to-grasp concepts to implement immediately.

These strategies will help you progress your aquatic therapy treatment plans and maximize the unique benefits of the aquatic environment for all clients, leading to even greater breakthroughs.

The Value of Aquatic Therapy Continuing Education

Investing in your professional development through aquatic therapy continuing education is crucial for staying at the forefront of evidence-based practice and expanding your skill set.

Whether you’re an assistant or a certified recreational, physical or occupational therapist seeking adaptive swim certification or have worked as an aquatic therapist and want to deepen your expertise, specialized training programs, like the Swim Whisperers® Certification can help you transform your skills.

Dive into the only online training created by an OT and PT team with over 60 years of combined experience. This will offer invaluable knowledge and techniques that work in your very next session.

For those working with children, we also offer Aquatic Therapy online training courses such as Totally Treatment. This pediatric aquatic therapy certification, along with the Swim Whisperers Certification can significantly enhance your ability to address their unique needs in the water.

Both courses recognize the importance of ongoing learning and provide graduates with a comprehensive CEU Kit, equipping you with the necessary documentation to apply for continuing education credits in your state, making this aquatic therapist training a valuable investment in your career growth and professional standing. .

From understanding underlying challenges to gaining practical strategies and continuing education, the Swim Whisperers® certification program offers a comprehensive approach to improving aquatic therapy outcomes for all your clients.

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.”