providing therapy: Benefits for every special need
Swimming and individually specialized lessons are shown to have important benefits for children with special needs, including those with autism, down syndrome, and cerebral palsy. SNUGS is dedicated to providing these children with quality swim instruction because of the safety and therapeutic benefits that aquatic training presents.
+ AUTISM
Water seems to have relaxing properties that counteract stressful side effects of sensory sensitivity experienced by autistic children.
Buoyancy and a sense of weightlessness allows the child to offload their body mass which can be relaxing to autistic children who struggle with physical coordination and balance on land.1
Immersion in liquid causes lymphatic and venous compression that has many biological benefits like suppressing the body’s sympathetic nervous system activity.1
Constant distribution of pressure from the water to the body moderates the level of arousal of autistic children.2
- Swim classes may provide autistic children with social benefits. In a study conducted of aquatic intervention programs for children with autism, results demonstrated an increase in the number of spontaneous social interactions.3 Even in interventions not focused on targeting social skills, antisocial behaviors afterwards decreased.4
- The repetitive motions involved in swimming caters to autistic children’s inclinations to move their body in repetitive, predictable ways. We believe this is one of the reasons aquatic exercise is therapeutic to autistic children.
1 A.E. Stan’s study “The benefits of participation in aquatic activities for people with disabilities,” published in 2012. [link]
2 Hull et al.’s paper, “Clinicians’ Perceptions of Benefits of Aquatic Therapy for Young Children with Autism,” published in 2006.[link]
3 Chu and Pan’s study “The effect of peer- and sibling-assisted aquatic program on interaction behaviors and aquatic skills of children with autism spectrum disorders and their peers/siblings,” published in 2012. [link]
4 C.-Y. Pan’s paper, “Effects of water exercise swimming program on aquatic skills and social behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorders,” published in 2010. [link]
+ DOWN SYNDROME
- Evidence supports that swimming can be important exercise for children with Down Syndrome, who are generally at greater risk for obesity, diabetes, and heart problems. In an experimental study of a 36 week swimming program for adolescents with Down syndrome, participants demonstrated significant improvements in measures of body composition. 1
- Research has clearly demonstrated young individuals with Down Syndrome are able to learn swimming strokes like freestyle, which combine numerous essential skills of floating, gliding, and breathing in the water. 2
+ CEREBRAL PALSY
- Physical activity has been demonstrated to be extremely important for children with cerebral palsy as a measure to help prevent the pain and deterioration of motor skills that often emerges in adulthood. Swimming provides a unique opportunity as an exercise and aerobic activity that, by nature of the environment, is gentler and puts less stress on the joints. 1
- Children with cerebral palsy also have reported in studies to highly enjoy swimming interventions, reporting improving in movements like walking or swimming without additional pain or fatigue. 2
- Specifically, qualitative reviews of aquatic therapy have shown the pool environment helps stimulate the senses of children with cerebral palsy as well as helping with movement in and out of the pool. 3
1 Michelle Kelly and Johanna Darrah’s paper, “Aquatic Exercise for Children with Cerebral Palsy,” published in 2016. [link]
2 Marlies et al.’s paper, “Benefits and Enjoyment of a Swimming Intervention for Youth With Cerebral Palsy: An RCT Study,” published in 2016. [link]
3 Muñoz-Blanco et al.’s paper, “Influence of Aquatic Therapy in Children and Youth with Cerebral Palsy: A Qualitative Case Study in a Special Education School,” published in 2020. [link]