How Swimming Lessons Benefit Special Needs and Abilities
There is a lot of evidence supporting the benefits of swim lessons for special needs kids.
This includes children who have been diagnosed with conditions such as autism, sensory disorders, visual impairment, down syndrome, and cerebral palsy.
Special needs kids benefit from swim lessons as a way to boost their level of physical activity and their self-confidence. They also benefit from learning a skill that could help to save their life.
Given these facts, it is worth taking a further look into the topic of swimming lessons and the benefits that they provide to special needs children.
3 Key Benefits of Swim Lessons for Special Needs Kids
There are many benefits that special needs kids can enjoy by participating in swimming.
Below are three of the key benefits that special needs children can take advantage of when they get involved in swimming lessons.
Swimming Provides an Opportunity for Social Integration for Special Needs Kids
It is common for special needs kids to experience shyness in social situations.
Entering special needs kids into a group swim program can help them to interact with other children in an environment that is controlled and monitored.
It is a great way to encourage them to actively participate with other kids.
Swimming Lessons Provide Vital Water Safety Skills
Statistics indicate that drowning is currently the second leading cause of death for kids with special needs.
This is another factor behind why it is important for special needs kids to take swim lessons.
Taking lessons provides them with vital water safety skills that can help to keep them safe.
Special Needs Kids Can Benefit From Physical Enablement Through Swimming
Swimming is an activity that can help special needs kids to build a sense of independence.
The buoyancy of water provides a greater range of flexibility and movement for many special needs kids and swimming is a great opportunity for them to explore their full range of capabilities.
The Benefits of Swim Lessons for Children on the Autism Spectrum
A perfect example of how swim lessons benefit special needs children can be observed when looking at autism.
These children often find water to be highly appealing. This fascination can become dangerous when the child does not know how to swim.
Between 2009 and 2011 alone, 91 percent of deaths for autistic children 14 and under who wandered away from home or school was the result of accidental drowning.
This statistic from the National Autism Association is a prime example of why swim lessons can be so beneficial to children who have special needs.
The Benefits of Swim Lessons for Children With Sensory Disorders
There are some compelling benefits that swimming provides to children who have been diagnosed with sensory issues.
It is an activity that helps to build endurance and muscle strength. It also helps to build coordination.
Swimming is a great activity for kids with sensory disorders because being in the water offers them deep pressure input that they experience on a whole-body level.
It is an activity that can decrease the tactile sensitivity that they might experience when they are not in the water.
The water also provides input to children with sensory disorders that can help them with body awareness.
These are all compelling reasons why swimming lessons are a great option for kids that have been diagnosed with sensory disorders.
Is Swimming a Beneficial Activity for Visually Impaired Children?
Visually impaired children can benefit from learning to swim in the same ways that other children benefit from it.
Knowing how to swim can be a life-saving skill for the visually impaired.
This is a compelling reason to involve visually impaired children in swimming lessons but a recent study has also demonstrated another benefit.
Visually impaired children who participate in swimming show a notable improvement in their posture.
This is another strong case for the benefits that special needs children can enjoy when they get involved with swim lessons.
Swim Lessons Help Children With Down Syndrome to Build Physical Fitness and Confidence
Children who have been diagnosed with down syndrome often face challenges with maintaining their physical fitness levels.
The fact that swimming is an excellent full-body workout makes it a great activity for children who have been diagnosed with the condition.
Learning to swim can also provide these special needs kids with a sense of accomplishment and confidence as they gain new skills.
These factors make a strong case for swim lessons for children who have been diagnosed with down syndrome.
Improved Motor Function Is a Swimming Benefit Experienced By Children With Cerebral Palsy
Learning to swim has also shown a lot of benefits for children who have been diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
A recent study demonstrated that a six-week swimming program yielded improvements in motor function and walking capacity for kids who have cerebral palsy.
These improvements also remained after a three-week follow-up.
The fact that water has the ability to decrease an individual’s effective weight by up to 90 percent can be quite soothing for cerebral palsy patients.
For this reason, aquatic therapy is often recommended for these patients across all age ranges. These are all great reasons for kids with cerebral palsy to get involved with swim lessons.
Customized Swim Lessons for Special Needs in San Diego
The goal of our swim lessons team is to make progress toward the goal of eliminating childhood drownings.
This includes offering customized swim lessons for special needs children here in the San Diego area.
As we have demonstrated, learning to swim can make a dramatic difference when it comes to reducing the risk of drowning for special needs children and it also benefits them from a health and social standpoint.
Our swim teachers provide instruction to students beginning at 16 months of age and up.
Contact us today to learn more about the customized swim lesson options that we are offering for special needs children here in the San Diego area.
1 thought on “How Swimming Lessons Benefit Special Needs & Abilities”
It’s great to know that swimming is an excellent form of exercise for children with down syndrome. My daughter has down syndrome but has been begging me to let her swim for a long time. I was worried about it, but I think that it would be good for her.