"Au"some Swimmers
The podcast that I chose to listen to this week was "Au-some Swimmers: Swim Lessons for Kids with Autism" with Kim Persons and Nick Murray. I was immediately drawn to this podcast because my go-to summer job during college was lifeguarding. As a lifeguard, I got to interact with and ensure the safety of multiple children at once. While this job was extremely rewarding and fun, it could be extremely challenging at times. While most of the challenging days would be on weekends where the pool would be extra crowded, I also faced some challenges when it came to communicating with a couple of children who had a sensory processing disorder.
I loved the ideas that Kim and Nick discussed in this podcast on educating lifeguards about swimmers with autism. Like me when I first started lifeguarding, the lifeguards that Kim and Nick spoke to stated how they struggled when it came to communicating with swimmers who had special needs. Kim and Nick came up with some strategies for the lifeguards, including a student log for the lifeguards to log each session that they had with their students. In this log, the lifeguards were encouraged to include what they did with the student that day, how the student performed, and things that the students likes and dislikes. I think that this was such a good idea, because I remember how hard it used to be when I would have to teach a swim lesson last minute with a kid that I had never taught before, and I would have no idea what to do with that particular kid. If the pool that I worked at would have had a student log, those swim lessons probably would have gone a lot more smoothly.
Kim and Nick also discussed changing the student schedule for swimmers who are more distracted and sensitive to the sounds and people around them. For example, pools are usually a lot more hectic on the weekends, so it might be better to have a swim lesson for a child with a sensory processing disorder on a less hectic week night. This idea is also great because it puts the child in a more comfortable and less stimulating environment so that the child can perform at their best and get the most out of their experience. Drowning is also one of the leading causes of death in children with autism, so learning how to swim is not just a fun activity, but also an essential skill that they need to learn in order to ensure their safety.
This podcast was extremely interesting and informative. So many people were able to benefit from Kim and Nick's advice. The lifeguards were educated on how to better communicate with swimmers with Autism, which not only helped their swim lessons to run more efficiently, but they were taught communication skills that they will be able to carry with them into other aspects of their lives. In the process of educating the lifeguards, their students got more out of their sessions and were taught valuable life skills that could possibly save their lives one day. And they had more fun! All in all, this podcast was very fun to listen to!
I loved the ideas that Kim and Nick discussed in this podcast on educating lifeguards about swimmers with autism. Like me when I first started lifeguarding, the lifeguards that Kim and Nick spoke to stated how they struggled when it came to communicating with swimmers who had special needs. Kim and Nick came up with some strategies for the lifeguards, including a student log for the lifeguards to log each session that they had with their students. In this log, the lifeguards were encouraged to include what they did with the student that day, how the student performed, and things that the students likes and dislikes. I think that this was such a good idea, because I remember how hard it used to be when I would have to teach a swim lesson last minute with a kid that I had never taught before, and I would have no idea what to do with that particular kid. If the pool that I worked at would have had a student log, those swim lessons probably would have gone a lot more smoothly.
Kim and Nick also discussed changing the student schedule for swimmers who are more distracted and sensitive to the sounds and people around them. For example, pools are usually a lot more hectic on the weekends, so it might be better to have a swim lesson for a child with a sensory processing disorder on a less hectic week night. This idea is also great because it puts the child in a more comfortable and less stimulating environment so that the child can perform at their best and get the most out of their experience. Drowning is also one of the leading causes of death in children with autism, so learning how to swim is not just a fun activity, but also an essential skill that they need to learn in order to ensure their safety.
This podcast was extremely interesting and informative. So many people were able to benefit from Kim and Nick's advice. The lifeguards were educated on how to better communicate with swimmers with Autism, which not only helped their swim lessons to run more efficiently, but they were taught communication skills that they will be able to carry with them into other aspects of their lives. In the process of educating the lifeguards, their students got more out of their sessions and were taught valuable life skills that could possibly save their lives one day. And they had more fun! All in all, this podcast was very fun to listen to!
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