The Sensory Inclusive Swim Program at Amherst Recreation
In the summer of 2024, Amherst Rec launched their adaptive swim program. Their goal to make the pool, a notoriously stressful setting for those with sensory difficulties, more inclusive for all.
As a parent, when you sign your child up for a swim lesson, you sign them up for safety and the skill-gain. Though in reality, you can expect them to face a choir of noise and splashes from the other children, and the natural push and pull of the pool's current.
For neurodivergent people, especially those who face sensory processing difficulties, such an environment can be highly stressful. Neurodivergent folks are significantly more likely to drown, and generally have a harder time in the water. Becky Demling, Outreach Director, is the parent of an adult son with autism who faces sensory difficulties. “Two of my kids could participate in some activities, and one of them couldn’t. And so when I came to [Amherst] Rec, it was really like, how are we gonna change this?”
So in the summer of 2024, Amherst Recreation launched an adaptive swim program tailored precisely to those individuals. The program was developed in collaboration with families of neurodivergent children and Kulture City, a non-profit whose goal is to expand accessibility for those with sensory needs.
Demling worked closely with the families to figure out strategies and sensory tools that were most beneficial to their children. Such as visual schedules and emotion scales, “We’re finding more ways to get them to where they’re comfortable and able to participate as fully as they are able to,” she says. Kulture City also provided staff with a training program for working with kids with sensory difficulty. Teaching them things like how to recognize a child with sensory needs, and how to handle a sensory overload situation. Lifeguards as well as the instructors are sensory inclusive trained.
Adaptive swim lessons are one-on-one and quieter, in contrast to a typical lesson that has more staff, more kids, and more noise. They are broken into blocks; 30 minutes of open pool time to get acclimated, followed by 30 minutes of adaptive swim curriculum tailored to the child, and 30 more of open swim to practice and ease out of the water. The program is run out of the Amherst Regional Middle School pool for a more controlled environment, so the pool remains a predictable and consistent space for the kids. Making it easier and more comfortable for them to learn. The lessons also utilize equipment that meets the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act, such as stairs, chairlifts, walkers, and float systems.
“We’re able to impact a lot of kids,” says Demling. The summer the program launched, Amherst Recreation taught 49 adaptive swim lessons, indicative of a growing need to make essential swim and safety skills more accessible for neurodivergent members of the community.
