Everything You Need To Know About Adaptive Swim

What is Adaptive Swim and how does it work for individuals with special needs, disabilities or learning challenges? Swimming is an important life skill for everyone, but not everyone learns how to swim in the same way. Some swimmers not only have to overcome obstacles relating to swim skill attainment, they also have to overcome physical, developmental, cognitive, and/or sensory obstacles at the same time.

Sounds pretty challenging right? That’s why adaptive swim lessons (also known as Special Needs Swim Lessons, Swimclusion, SEN(D) or Sensory Swim) use an adaptive approach tailored to meet different learning needs. In this article, we help to break down what adaptive swimming is, who it benefits, and how you can experience this game-changing approach to learning to swim.

Table of Contents

What is Adaptive Aquatics?

Adaptive Aquatics is a type of aquatic programming where the swim instructor or aquatic therapist is skilled in the process of assessing challenges, identifying roadblocks, and implementing strategies using a modified, flexible approach.

Traditional methods combined with extra patience isn’t always enough when it comes to achieving swim skill benchmarks or therapy goals with this population. Specialized training is crucial and plays a huge role in the success of clients.

  • Programming for anyone struggling with traditional methods because of an underlying problem.
  • Adapting to a client’s unique needs through specialized training.
  • Strategies for swimmers that have difficulty with attention, coordination and motor planning.
  • Inclusion for swimmers with special needs.

What are Adaptive Swim Lessons?

Adaptive swim lessons are designed specifically for individuals with disabilities or special needs. These lessons aim to provide a safe and supportive environment for individuals to learn how to swim, improve their swimming skills, and gain water safety awareness.

The 3 most important things to know about Adaptive Swim Lessons:

  • A swim lesson designed to specifically address the challenges for someone with neurological, developmental or any type of attention difficulty. This includes swimmers with Autism, Anxiety, Learning Disabilities, Sensory and/or Motor challenges (ranging from mild to severe).

  • The swim lesson would go beyond traditional methods of a swim curriculum and be adapted to the special needs swimmer. The swim lesson would address the identified obstacles getting in the way of achieving swim skill benchmarks and the instructor would create lesson plans to meet the needs of each individual swimmer.

  • Swim lesson plans would be created using strategies for motor coordination, motor planning and progressing through the swim skill benchmarks with the modifications necessary for success.  These plans should address the underlying reasons why a swimmer is struggling and provide alternative techniques to teach the individual how to be successful with specific swim skills.

Who Benefits From Adaptive Swim Lessons?

A wide range of individuals can benefit from Adaptive Swim lessons. If your swimmer does not have a specific condition but struggles to pay attention, has a fear of the water, has experienced a traumatic water event or has a general lack of water experience, then adaptive swim lessons would be a great choice. This also includes individuals who could make faster progress if they were taught in a way that put them at ease with an adapted approach, considering how they learn best.

Adaptive Swim lessons can be helpful for children with conditions such as:

What Are the Different Types of Adaptive Swim Lessons?

Each swim school usually has its own unique all-abilities swim programs. However, we have found that Adaptive Swim lessons tend to be offered in 3 different ways:

  • Providing an additional instructor within a group class to assist the swimmer with the adaptive needs within the typical class. This instructor is flexible and patient to prompt and assist the special needs swimmer to follow the group.

  • Offering some type of buddy swim or ‘swimclusion’ that consists of a qualified swim instructor guiding volunteers on how to work with a special needs swimmer one-on-one within the buddy swim time. The focus during this type of lesson is more on safety, fun and developing emerging swim skills.

  • Private swim instruction in a 1:1 setting where the swim facility has invested in advanced training in adaptive aquatics to prepare the swim instructors for teaching adaptive lessons, like Swim Angelfish.

How Do You Know if Your Child Needs Adaptive Swim Lessons?

Here are 4 signs that your child might need adaptive swim lessons:

  • Your swimmer seems to struggle lesson after lesson in the group setting and you notice that they are not progressing like the other students.

  • Your child has an IEP at school and is getting services for extra help. Often these are the swimmers that are typical but just can’t seem to grasp the swim skill benchmarks or master the steps to achieve them.

  • Your swimmer is constantly splashing, drinking, and going underwater versus staying with the group and following along.

  • Your swimmer seems anxious week after week about the same swim skill benchmarks and shows signs of discomfort versus progression. They might begin to say they ‘do not like’ and ‘do not want to go’ to their swim lesson.

When Should a Swimmer Start Adaptive Swim Lessons?

It’s tricky to know when exactly a swimmer should transition to adaptive swim lessons from traditional swim lessons. We have found that if your child has been in traditional swim lessons for more than 3 months and is falling behind the other children in the class, then it is a good time to work with the swim school to explore different options for your swimmer.

Here’s a few things you can do to start the conversation:

  • Ask the aquatic director if they have an option for adaptive swim instruction in a 1:1 setting to address the obstacles like motor coordination and attention challenges that your swimmer might be experiencing.
  • See if the adaptive aquatic program specialist can attend the group lesson for assistance and if necessary, determine a plan to transition your swimmer to a private lesson.

Adaptive Swim Tips for Parents

It can seem a little daunting for parents who know that their child needs a different approach during their swim lessons to gain important water safety skills, but they don’t know where to start. We will help you find the answers to your questions so that you can find the right swim instructor and adaptive swim lesson program for your child. We also have a FREE Mini course for parents/caregivers looking for adaptive Swim Tips for their child with special needs.

When Should I Seek Out an Adaptive Lesson?

If you are in a group lesson and week after week (for up to 8-12 visits) your swimmer is not progressing, you should ask what your alternatives are for individualized instruction.

If your swimmer is unable to motor plan the swim strokes or is having weekly challenges with attending to the instructor, this is time to transition to an adaptive swim lesson.

This is critical because you do not want your swimmer to develop routines and rituals where they rely on being held or are not participating fully in the lesson each week. Seek out an adaptive lesson to break the cycle of not progressing and find an instructor who has the specialized training to overcome your swimmers’ underlying problem.

What Are the Signs That My Child Is Not Progressing With Swim Skills?

Your swimmer is not progressing with the swim skill benchmarks listed for the class such as: Submerging, Safety or following along with attention to the group.

Where Do You Find Adaptive Swim Lessons?

Usually, your local aquatic center will advertise its adaptive aquatics or adaptive swim program. Remember, this may be described differently and can include descriptions such as Sensory Swim, Autism Swim, Sensory Friendly Swim, SEN (or SEND), Sensory Enhanced Swim, All Abilities Swim, Swimclusion, Special Abilities and many other variations. The aquatic director, inclusion specialist or program director will be able to tell you about their adaptive swim options. You can also register for Swim Whisperers® Adaptive Swim Lessons in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts or New Hampshire.

What Is the Biggest Challenge a Parent Will Face in Finding a Swim Instructor?

Many swim schools and aquatic centers pride themselves on the traditional swim curriculum that they use which includes a teaching approach based on flexibility, patience, and positive rewards. This will often be how they prepare their swim instructors for all students, and they are confident that this approach works for all abilities, children with challenges, diverse abilities, and so on.

The biggest challenge is that there is no industry standard governing what type of training qualifies a certified swim instructor to be prepared to teach adaptive swim lessons. This is a grey area in the learn-to-swim community, so it is important to ask specific questions about the training an instructor has that qualifies them to teach students with special needs or disabilities. This will be the key to finding an effective swim instructor for your child with special needs.

How Do I Know if the Swim Instructor Is Able to Adapt to My Child’s Needs?

  1. Ask the swim instructor how long they have been teaching swimming to typical students and how long for neurodivergent students or those with special needs/disabilities.
  2. Ask questions about the training that their adaptive programs are offering the swim instructors. Specifically ask these questions to get a deeper understanding of their experience level.
    1. How many hours of adaptive training have you completed?
    2. How many hours of traditional swim curriculum training have you completed?
    3. Can I see the special needs / adaptive swim training curriculum so I can understand if this will work for my child?
  3. Behavior therapists, special education professionals and health care workers are usually a good fit as an adaptive swim instructor. However, parents should enquire about the specific swim training credentials gained to teach swim skill acquisition and water safety (i.e. Basic Swim Instructor (BSI) or Water Safety Instructor (WSI) using American Red Cross; Starfish Aquatics Institute, Swim Lesson University certified or whether they are YMCA certified). This is to understand if the training they have attained makes them competent enough for your swimmer’s needs.

What Questions Should I Ask to Find Out How They Plan to Teach My Swimmer With Autism, Anxiety, Down Syndrome, Sensory or Motor Challenges?

  • My child with anxiety is afraid of the water and won’t get in the pool. Which strategies will you use to help them?

  • My child with autism is continuously seeking water and loves to go under all the time. What strategies will you be able to use to help them?

  • My child with Down Syndrome doesn’t typically follow directions and says NO a lot. What training do you have to overcome this obstacle?

  • My child with Cerebral Palsy will need modifications with equipment for a safe water experience and to learn to propel. Do you have the resources and the training to help them feel safe and learn to be as independent as possible in the water?

  • My child is on the Autism Spectrum and is non-verbal. How will you communicate with them to help them learn swim skills and water safety?

Adaptive Swim Tips for Swim Instructors and Coaches

How Do You Know When to Suggest That a Student Transitions to Adaptive Swim Lessons?

2 key indicators would be:

  • Any swimmer who is struggling to attain basic swim skills for a variety of reasons, over 4 or more consecutive lessons (group and/or private). Adaptive swim lessons are a better choice so that the child can make progress and the parent and swim instructor do not feel defeated each week.

  • You are observing behaviors that are becoming obstacles, such as seeking the water, avoiding the water and rigidity (avoidance) towards the swim lesson plan. Often, group lessons are overstimulating for a child with special needs and a private adaptive swim lesson will improve comfort for the swimmer and swim instructor and provide the parent with peace of mind.

I Want to Learn More About Adaptive Swim. What Education and Resources Are Available?

Swim Angelfish offers FREE mini-courses and an adaptive water safety toolkit that will introduce you to Adaptive Aquatics.

What Professional Adaptive Swim Training Options Are Available Currently?

  • Swim Angelfish offer an online Adaptive Swim Whisperers® Certification. This is a 20 module, multi-sensory platform that combines video content, case studies, practicum, quizzes, and exams to ensure you are prepared to help every type of student. Through our program, you will learn how to assess and identify roadblocks, and how to implement the correct strategy to overcome them. Our certification program strengthens your swim curriculum by providing you with an effective, time-tested toolbox to serve swimmers with special needs. This is the only training created by an OT/PT team with over 30 years of experience.

  • Children with Challenges is an online course from the USA Swimming University that informs swim instructors of the definitions of certain disabilities and addresses their safety needs.

  • Reputable organizations like the Starfish Aquatics Institute (SAI) offer continuing education courses for swim instructors starting their adaptive aquatics learning journey.

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.”