Pool caters to special needs

By Lauren Radomski (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Thursday, July 17, 2008

It’s a Tuesday morning at the Fergus Falls Area Family YMCA and 6-year-old Wyatt Clausen has just dunked his head in the swimming pool. Earlier he swam down to the deep end, and now he splashes and laughs as he tosses a bright pink ball with Aquatics Director Cindy Johnson.

“I can see an improvement in him in just the first few weeks,” says Wyatt’s mother, Jennifer Clausen, who sits nearby.

This session is not your typical swimming lesson, but a new program through the YMCA for area children with special needs.

Headed by Johnson, the Swimming for Special Needs class allows children like Wyatt, who was diagnosed with high-end autism in April, to become comfortable with the water — and themselves.

“Once your child’s diagnosed, they don’t give you a guidebook,” said Jennifer Clausen, explaining the challenge of knowing what to do following an autism diagnosis. “It’s hard to find the information you need.”

Wyatt’s West Central Area special education teacher alerted the family to the new swimming offering at the YMCA, a program that dates back to Johnson’s work with Mounds View Park and Recreation in the early 1980s.

Back then, Johnson said, she oversaw an open swim time for children with special needs and found water both soothed and strengthened highly-sensory autistic swimmers.

“Everything about it works for a kid with autism,” Johnson said, explaining that swimming lowers both heart rate and blood pressure and keeps those numbers low even after a lesson is through.

Johnson initiated Swimming for Special Needs in Fergus Falls in early summer, with the first handful of swimmers starting in mid-June. Her initial group includes Wyatt and two other boys about the same age, both with autism. The bi-weekly sessions typically start with group activities like games; swimmers have individual time with Johnson later on as parents keep an eye on the rest of the group.

“That’s the great thing about Cindy — she really works to tailor a group program but addresses their individual needs as well,” said Jennifer Clausen, who says she’s seen a difference in her son.

“I know he does seem to thrive in water and his body seems to be able to move in ways that it won’t allow him on land,” she said.

Swimming sessions also allow Wyatt to spend time with kids his age and not feel like the odd one out.

“We all know that kids need that sense of belonging and involvement with their peers,” Clausen said. Her hope, she said, is that the swimming program will become the first of many opportunities for children with special needs.

A new Swimming for Special Needs class is scheduled to run July 28 through Aug. 23 at the YMCA pool. Sessions will be held Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10-10:45 a.m., and will cost $24 for YMCA members and $60 for non-members.

More information is available by contacting Johnson at 218-739-4489.