The Importance of Swim Lessons for Special Needs Children
Swim lessons for special needs children are a powerful way to help develop self-confidence and self-esteem.
All children should learn how to swim and be safer around the water. It’s a skill that could save their lives, and it’s a skill that can be successfully taught to children with special needs.
Swim lessons for special needs children have benefits that go beyond learning this necessary skill. Children learn to be safer around water. Some children with sensory disorders find water and showers very stressful and learning to swim helps them cope with this stress. Here are some of the many additional benefits.
Swim lessons offer special needs children a restriction-free moment for the first time in their lives. It can condition young bodies while it bestows confidence and a sense of achievement.
Safety is the primary objective of teaching special needs children to swim. All children – but especially this group – lack an understanding of the danger posed by water.
Children who learn to swim also develop a better spatial awareness that comes as they learn to use reference points while exploring water depth. This increase spatial awareness, along with the development of natural balance, can help prevent children with special needs from drowning if they accidentally fall into the water.
The pool is a relaxing and fun environment for exercise for kids of any ability level. Water resistance helps to build muscle tone and general strength. Learning to swim helps children with disabilities develop motor skills, coordination, and balance. They’re isolating muscle groups and learning how to coordinate different motions as they learn to move through the water and float.
Special needs children with movement restrictions often thrive in the pool. The water helps to improve their range of motion. Remember that buoyancy in water reduces our body weight by 80 percent. Swim lessons provide an environment offering freedom of movement, as well as safety skills.
Emotional and social benefits
Swim classes for special needs children are a powerful way to help develop self-confidence and self-esteem. Learning to swim teaches them new skills and offers a sense of achievement as they are encouraged to explore their boundaries and discover new abilities.
Swim lessons are designed especially for special needs children based on potential and restrictions, and the object is to help them progress to the point where they can function in a group. The progression exposes them to new social interactions, helping to prepare them for the dynamics of interaction in the world around them.
It’s not uncommon for non-verbal special needs children to interact with their swim instructor and other participants. They begin to increase their vocabulary so they can describe their experiences in the water. The physical act of swimming has been shown to balance both hemispheres of the brain. Swimming often helps calm special needs children who act out. It’s a time of intensive sensory stimulation that other environments can’t provide.
Swim lessons for special needs children can change their lives. If you’re interested in learning more about our swim lessons, feel free to reach out to our team today by phone at 305-969-SWIM (7946) or by visiting our contact page.