How Our Special Abilities Program Helps Outside the Pool

How Our Special Abilities Program Helps Outside the Pool

Hear from a local British Swim School mother about how our Special Abilities program has positively impacted her son, in and out of the water!

We have chosen to call this program “Special Abilities” for a very specific reason. It is important to focus on the ability of the child and not what they cannot do. There is a high level of compassion and care that comes with working with all children and this is no different when working with those with a Special Ability. This program can be extremely rewarding and fulfilling for everyone involved. Instructors, parents, and students will learn many skills that can be carried over throughout their lives.

A Little Bit About Our Humble Company

British Swim School is an all year-round swim school. We specialize in teaching children/adults of all ages and abilities how to be water safe. We offer small class sizes with a ratio of one instructor per 4 children, as well as private one on one lessons. We do not teach with swim aids, and instead, teach children how to sit on the side of the pool and demonstrate how to safely enter and exit the pool when it is their turn. The structure of our classes not only allows children to move at their own pace, learn from their peers, but it also allows the instructor to provide each child with one-on-one attention while still in a group setting.

Stopping Accidental Drownings with the Special Abilities Program

In 2009, 2010, and 2011, accidental drowning accounted for 91% total U.S. deaths reported in children with an ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) ages 14 and younger subsequent to wandering/elopement. Their chance of dying from drowning is 160 times higher compared to other children. These statistics are staggering, and somebody needs to do something about it!

That is when we step in. We are happy to announce that our program has developed into one that welcomes children with any type of necessity and within any spectrum. All our instructors go through a vigorous training program where they learn to recognize any child’s learning ability, where they learn to adjust the lessons in order to create results, and where they learn to recognize if a student needs a more private setting.

If we see that a student might need a more 1-on-1 setting, we will be introducing them to our Special Abilities Program.

Special Abilities Program

Our Special abilities program contains 2 levels for children who are higher on the spectrum, who are less functional in a group setting, and may need to set smaller goals. These classes are designed to tailor specific goals to each child. The overall goals in these levels are a combination of our acclimation level and our beginner water survival level. The mission of our Special abilities program is to eventually have these children be able to participate in our regular program.

We have chosen to call this program “Special Abilities” for a very specific reason. It is important to focus on the ability of the child and not what they cannot do. There is a high level of compassion and care that comes with working with all children and this is no different when working with those with a Special Ability. This program can be extremely rewarding and fulfilling for everyone involved. Instructors, parents and students will learn many skills that can be carried over throughout their lives.

The First Day

On the first day of a Special ability student, they will be greeted by the Aquatic Director or one of the Aquatic managers. The first day will just be an evaluation to see what level the child is in and to match them with the right instructor. The Director/Manager will also go over an intake form with the parent.  The intake form is designed to help give the instructor more information about the child to help them achieve not only the goals of the level but also personal goals which the instructor, director/manager, child, and parent will set together and record on that intake form.

The Levels

Our Special abilities 1 and 2 levels are designed for children who are lower functioning and may have more obstacles in their every day lives, whether that be physical, mental, behavioral or communication. In these levels, the goals are fairly simple. However, the instructor is trained to communicate with the family and set smaller goals that are tailored to that specific child’s needs.

Special Abilities 1

The goals of this level are:

• Able to sit on the side of the pool independently
• No tears/No fears
• Safe entry/Safe exit
• Able to back float with head on shoulder
• Independent in the swim ring

Special Abilities 2

The goals of this level are:

• Blast-Off in second position/Ears in water
• Torpedo rollover
• Fully submerged on 1-2-3 gasp
• Humpty Dumpty
• Assisted Shark Arms back to the wall

The Benefits

Our Special Abilities program is crafted to stimuli and offer 4 major benefits that swimming provides: Physical, Psychosocial, Cognitive and Recreational.

Physical Benefits: Swimming is a great workout because you need to move your whole body against the resistance of the water. While swimming our students will experience:

• Increase to overall health and well-being.
• Increase in flexibility and muscular strength.
• Possible decrease in unwanted weight and/or pain in joints.
• Improvements in skill-related fitness activities.
• Improved balance, reaction time, coordination, power, agility and speed.
• Improved sensory awareness.
• Responses to temperature, pressure, and changes to water surfaces.
• Improvements in breath control.

Emotional Benefits: Our goal-oriented program is designed to maintain motivation and inspire our students to continue achieving more. We want our students to have fun and celebrate every milestone, big or small! While swimming our students will experience:

• Improvements in self-worth.
• Development of character-building activities and interactions.
• Acceptance of working and being with others.
• It can boost self-confidence because they can do more in the water than they can on land.

Cognitive Benefits: It’s a fact that being physically active has a positive impact on mental health. Our program is designed to offer a stimulating learning environment that allows our students to understand their own environment. While swimming our students will experience:

• Understanding of colors, sounds, and physical objects.
• Understanding of their own movement and capabilities in the water.
• Understanding rules and time.
• Growth in patience
• Much more.

Social Benefits: Swimming is a social sport. Our students are always exposed to social factors that aim to help them learn from others. While swimming our students will experience:

• Understanding of skills that can be used during many other activities in everyday life.
• Understanding how to learn from visual cues and feedback from others.
• Understanding of how to interact with others.

Please submit all requests to goswimhudsonnj@britishswimschool.com. The Aquatics Director will then reach out to the parent and schedule a meeting time with the family and sign them up for class. The Aquatics Director will confirm with the caretaker when the child is officially signed up for classes and has been paired with an instructor.

British Swim School is an official provider of the Hudson Partnership Care Management Organization

In June 2019, British Swim School became an official provider within the Hudson Partnership Care Management Organization, the first to teach water-survival to children in their care.

This is the first time Hudson Partnership CMO will be able to offer water safety as part of their comprehensive care program.

Our mission at British Swim School is to ensure that every person, regardless of age or ability, has the opportunity to become a safe and happy swimmer – Hudson Partnership CMO is the best home for our signature water-safety lessons!

We are very excited and expect a lot of results from this partnership. The extremely structured and goal-oriented approach of the British Swim School teaching method, combined with our brand-new program for students with special abilities, is very well suited to the children in Hudson Partnership CMO’s network. We can provide both water-safety lessons plus the educational benefits from the structured environment we provide”.

About Hudson Partnership CMO

Hudson Partnership CMO is a non-profit agency that works with Hudson County youth ages 3-21 who may have various needs, from mental health issues, behavioral challenges and substance use to juvenile justice involvement and developmental disabilities. Hudson Partnership CMO currently work with nearly 800 families. Their mission is to help families identify their strengths and build upon them so the youth can thrive in their community.