A water workout is fun! Give it a try! In this 12-part series, EP explores the benefits of aquatics therapy and recreation for people with special needs

Exceptional Parent, The, June, 2008 by Liz Waters

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When a family faces the particular challenge of a debilitating illness, disorder, or other disability that is affecting a child, life becomes complicated. Suddenly the need for medications and therapies takes center stage, and things like summer swimming lessons and lazy days poolside can get lost in the shuffle. However, as more and more research shows the value of aquatic exercise in maintaining mobility, flexibility, and muscle strength, regular family visits to the modern version of the old swimming hole can be extremely rewarding on a number of levels.

Water exercise is not a substitute for aquatic therapy. Aquatic therapy is prescribed by a physician and supervised by a licensed physical therapist. While it can be enjoyable, it is far more structured than aquatic exercise. It requires a different mindset and works toward recognizable, physical goals. It is often performed in warm water (86[degrees] or warmer) and focuses on the specific physical needs of the patient. Water exercise is a fitness routine that is simply good fun.

Aquatic exercise is performed in cooler water (81[degrees] to 83[degrees] is common). At the YMCAs and health clubs, it is often set in a class situation, where a certified aqua fitness instructor takes the group through a variety of moves that are designed to stretch and exercise every muscle in the body, using the gentle resistance of water and the comfort of buoyancy to facilitate the exercise. As a workout medium, it is great for people who are not in an athlete's physical condition. It provides an aerobic workout that very seldom results in sore muscles afterward. The moves are sometimes graceful, sometimes goofy, but always fun for the participants.

Parents can carry many of these same moves over into family time at the swimming pool and provide a child who has limited mobility a chance to interact with parents and siblings on a more equal footing.

Simple moves that are well known are a great way to start; a simple walking or running motion that cannot be performed on the deck can be done in the water. A sculling motion with the arms or simply tracing a figure 8 with arms or legs is an excellent and gentle range of motion activity. The back and forth motion of cross-country skiing is easily emulated in the water, working with buoyancy and against the resistance of the water. Similarly the jumping jack from high school gym class can be a pleasure in the water. Imagine the sheer joy of stretching limbs that have been in a wheelchair all day, within a medium that can hold up some 90 percent of the body's weight. Further, a child with precarious balance and limited strength does not have to worry about skinned knees and bruised elbows from falling when playing in the water. Safety precautions in the water should always be used; a life vest plus water wings or "swimmies" that slip over the arms can greatly enhance a child's confidence in the water. It is important to encourage children to move as far as they can, but only as far as is comfortable. The whole idea is to have fun.

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As an aqua fitness instructor, I work regularly with individuals of varying physical capabilities and have seen regular participants in my classes gain strength and flexibility at a rate that is surprising. As the parent of a child with muscular dystrophy, I learned that water can offer freedom of movement can help hold the progression of the disease at bay as muscles work in the water at their own capability without overexertion.

Inexpensive pool "noodles" can greatly enhance a water play session for children with special needs. It is a great challenge to one's balance to sit on a noodle as if upon a swing, and even to kneel or stand on the noodle in the water. Noodle races, wherein one must sit or stand on the submerged noodle and rely on paddling with the arms to move while still staying balanced, can be a shared activity between kids with disabilities and those without physical limitations. It is also challenging for mom and dad. And just expect the kids to bop one another over the head with them, all in good fun.

It is always smart to scope out a swimming facility before you go, to settle matters of accessibility. The Americans with Disabilities Act strongly recommends that large public pools be equipped with two means of access and smaller public pools with one means of access. The use of a pool lift makes it quite easy to get a large child, teenager, or adult into and out of the water without worrying about carrying slippery bodies, and many facilities have Aquatic Access lifts installed for this purpose. Aquatic Access also manufactures a variety of lifts for home pools, so aquatic activities could be as close as your own back yard.

For Linder Ladbrooke of Nottingham, England, the Aquatic Access pool lift enabled her to overcome her lifelong fear of water in order to work out in the pool at her home. At first, Linder simply sat on the lift seat on the deck. When she became comfortable with that, she then rotated over the water and tried sitting there. Then came the crucial step when she felt confident enough to be lowered into the water. She stayed on the lift seat and moved her limbs a bit in the water. After a few dips on the seat, she finally got off the seat, with a life vest, and began to move about the pool. After several months, she found that she had gained strength in all of her limbs and was significantly less tired at the end of the day.