The Oct 2020 edition of Autism Parenting Magazine expounds on the benefits. “Imagine there was a way to improve your child’s concentration, mental alertness, responsiveness, and peace of mind in 30-40 minutes. The day-to-day challenges faced by autistic children like anxiety, concentration, overstimulation, and social interaction can all be improved.”

For individuals with an ASD diagnosis, the sensory experience of being immersed adds a layer of calm that can’t be duplicated anywhere else.

“In the water, everything feels calmer. It’s like all the noise, feelings, and business of the outside world just stop. The feeling of the water is interesting, and the way light moves through it can be fascinating.”

In addition to all of the benefits of learning to swim and having autism, you might also stop your child from being another statistic! It’s estimated that one out every 59 individuals has an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and according to a 2012 study in Pediatrics, 49% of children with ASD have a tendency to wander or bolt from safe settings. Individuals with ASD are often attracted to water yet have little to no sense of danger. Drowning is a leading cause of death in children with ASD. – (NAA – National Autism Association). Give the gift of lifesaving swim lessons this season and help your child become “One With The Water! ”

*Private and public lessons available in packages of four and eight.

Molly Huggins

Molly is a member of our creative team, mom of four water-loving babies, and a fierce advocate for CPR training and really early swim instruction.

The post Swimming and Autism: Does it really make a difference? appeared first on One with the Water.

As an organization with a unique focus on serving children and families with special needs, we do our best to be aware of significant issues happening in the community. COVID-19 continues to dictate our day to day in an unprecedented manner. Schooling at home carries additional challenges for teachers and parents engaging with children who require extra help and resources to manage their educational needs.

In normal circumstances, the federal Individuals with Disabilities Act ensures that such families receive the support they need in the education system.

“The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a law that makes available a free appropriate public education to eligible children with disabilities throughout the nation and ensures special education and related services to those children.The IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education, and related services to more than 6.5 million eligible infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities.” Source

Due to the constraints of COVID-19, some school districts are unable to provide the resources and support available. Some students aren’t receiving any instruction online at all. Now the issue is coming to a head in Washington, DC, as advocates and administrators go head to head over how to best support these students with the resources available.

According to the Washington Post, 

“The advocates are demanding that school districts deliver education equitably, as the law requires. Administrators say they cannot do the same things they did when schools were open and need some flexibility.”

In short, advocates are demanding that all tenets of the IDEA be upheld and all legal rights afforded to students, and no waivers to the authority of the law should be granted.

Administrators, on the other hand, argue that waiver authority is necessary.

“Local education agencies (LEAs) are facing a great deal of compliance challenges which are taking our focus from educating children with disabilities and shifting, focusing our effort on paperwork. Without flexibility, we will generate endless cycles of reporting about how COVID-19 caused money to be unspent, evaluations to be delayed, and services and supports that are in IEPs that are not able to be implemented.

(From the letter from the special education administrators’ organizations seeking flexibility from Congress)

Read the full Washington Post Article here for full copies of the letters detailing each side’s case in the matter. 

How is this affecting your family? Are you receiving the support you need? Let us know and don’t forget to share!

Molly Huggins

Molly is a member of our creative team, mom of four water-loving babies, and a fierce advocate for CPR training and really early swim instruction.

The post Upholding the Individuals With Disabilities Act appeared first on One with the Water.

It’s that time again for my Southern California friends! Studio Movie Grill is offering a FREE* screening of Jumanji II: The Next Level on December 28th and Stars Wars Rise of Skywalker on January 4! Both movies will be shown at the five locations below, beginning at 11 am. 

*movie is free for children with special needs, and their siblings.

Free Special Needs Movie Screening

“A pillar of Studio Movie Grill’s Community Outreach since 2003, the Special Needs Screenings are designed for families raising children with special needs. Special Needs Screenings are shown with the lights up, and the volume lowered, and children are free to move around, talk, or even dance in the aisles during the movie.”

The sensory-friendly screenings are free for children with special needs and their siblings (parental guidance is always suggested). Adult tickets are available at the before-noon price. 

Locations

Special Needs Screenings are shown on Saturdays at 11:00 am at the following Studio Movie Grill Southern California locations:

• Studio Movie Grill – DOWNEY: 8200 3rd Street, Downey, CA 90241
• Studio Movie Grill – MONROVIA: 410 S Myrtle Avenue, Monrovia, CA 91016
• Studio Movie Grill – REDLANDS: 340 N Eureka Street, Redlands, CA 92374
• Studio Movie Grill – SIMI VALLEY: In the Simi Valley Town Center, 1555 Simi Town Center Way Simi Valley, CA 93065
• Studio Move Grill – GLENDALE: NEW LOCATION 128 Artsakh Avenue, Glendale, CA 91206

May the force be with you.

Molly Huggins

Molly is a member of our creative team, mom of four water-loving babies, and a fierce advocate for CPR training and really early swim instruction.

The post Jumanji II and Star Wars FREE for Special Needs Families appeared first on One with the Water.

Southern California friends, you don’t want to miss this! Studio Movie Grill is offering a FREE* screening of Frozen 2! November 30, Frozen 2 will be shown at the five locations below, beginning at 11 am. 

*movie is free for children with special needs, and their siblings.

Free Special Needs Movie Screening

“A pillar of Studio Movie Grill’s Community Outreach since 2003, the Special Needs Screenings are designed for families raising children with special needs. Special Needs Screenings are shown with the lights up, and the volume lowered, and children are free to move around, talk, or even dance in the aisles during the movie.”

The sensory-friendly screenings are free for children with special needs and their siblings (parental guidance is always suggested). Adult tickets are available at the before-noon price. 

Locations

Special Needs Screenings are shown on Saturday at 11:00 am at the following Studio Movie Grill Southern California locations:

• Studio Movie Grill – DOWNEY: 8200 3rd Street, Downey, CA 90241
• Studio Movie Grill – MONROVIA: 410 S Myrtle Avenue, Monrovia, CA 91016
• Studio Movie Grill – REDLANDS: 340 N Eureka Street, Redlands, CA 92374
• Studio Movie Grill – SIMI VALLEY: In the Simi Valley Town Center, 1555 Simi Town Center Way Simi Valley, CA 93065
• Studio Move Grill – GLENDALE: NEW LOCATION 128 Artsakh Avenue, Glendale, CA 91206

 Now let it go and enjoy Frozen 2 with your family! (You’re singing that in your head now, aren’t you?)

Molly Huggins

Molly is a member of our creative team, mom of four water-loving babies, and a fierce advocate for CPR training and really early swim instruction.

The post Don’t Miss Frozen 2: Free Showing appeared first on One with the Water.

General health benefits for adaptive athletes.

Physical benefits: General overall health improvements from swimming include: low impact for mobility restricted individuals, improved cardiovascular health, improved flexibility and muscle tone, range of movement, and can provide positive assists in meeting therapeutic goals outside the pool.

Psychological benefits: Recent studies have proven that adaptive athletes report a proportionate increase of positive self-identity with increased physical activity. In the first study, designed to counteract the metaphors and descriptors used for athletes with disabilities, there were three overarching themes.

• Don’t treat athletes differently
• Exercise assists in managing emotions
• Physical activity balances others’ negative perceptions

In the second study, explicitly done on swimmers, athletes also reported similar findings.

• A strong self-identity
• A moderate to strong social identity
• Negative affectivity with lower levels of exclusivity
• Strong competitiveness and goal orientation

But why the swim team?

For adaptive athletes, there are specific benefits of joining a swim team, especially athletes with socialization barriers and self or peer-directed exclusion from neuro-typical events. Adaptive athletes who participate in swim teams benefit from the following:

• Better sport-specific coaching.
• More rigorous training.
• More competition in practice.
• Higher expectations than they are likely to receive in other settings.
• More socialization opportunities.
• Greater independence in activities of daily living.
• Improved ability to cope with limitations imposed by disabilities. (Source).

The data is clear on all fronts. Joining a swim team creates a next level positive impact on the pre-existing physical, emotional, and mental benefits derived from swimming. Register today for an opportunity to join our adaptive athletes swim team!

Molly Huggins

Molly is a member of our creative team, mom of four water-loving babies, and a fierce advocate for CPR training and really early swim instruction.

The post Should your adaptive athlete join a swim team? appeared first on One with the Water.

A study published by JAMA Pediatrics in April of this year found that Autism Spectrum Disorders can be diagnosed as early as 12 months old, and when re-evaluated at age three, 84% of children diagnosed around the 14^th-month marker retained the diagnosis.

According to co-author Dr. Karen Pierce, a professor in the department of neurosciences, and co-director at the Autism Center, University of California, San Diego,

“Diagnosing autism spectrum disorders early is extremely important because the brain is really plastic during early development. If you can identify and start treating autism spectrum disorders before those connections are made, maybe more effective connections will be made. … We believe from a neuroscience perspective; kids will have better outcomes.”[2]

The immediate takeaway in all of this is that parents should raise any concerns they have with their doctor at any age. You are your child’s best advocate, and you are uniquely positioned to observe them in their natural environment for extended periods. If you aren’t sure or have concerns on where to start, consider these five questions, developed by Dr. Connie Kasari, (professor of human development and psychology in the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies and the Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior) as a means of determining early warning signs of autism and autism spectrum disorders.

• Does the baby respond to his or her name when called by the caregiver? Neurotypical children will react to the sound of their name by turning toward the person who called out. Babies with Autism don’t typically respond and often have a selective response to sound.
• Does the young child engage in “joint attention”? Joint attention is simply when a child joins with the person engaging them to look at the same item or focus on the same activity. I.E., shifting their gaze when prompted, looking in the direction of a pointed finger, etc.
• Does the child imitate others? Babies with autism display mimicking behavior (like sounds, waving, clapping, and facial expressions) at significantly fewer rates than neurotypical children. In fact, it is critical to understand with all of these behaviors that the primary concern is the total absence or extremely low frequency of occurrence of the behavior.
• Does the child respond emotionally to others? Neurotypical babies are emotionally reactive, smiling, laughing, etc., and will usually mirror and mimic the emotions of those around them.
• Does the baby engage in pretend play? (This behavior usually develops close to the end of year two, and a child with Autism may not engage with toys at all, or they may develop obsessive relationships with one toy to the exclusion of all others, or even just with the movement of their own body.)[3]

 If any of these questions trigger a red flag, don’t be afraid to dig deeper, knowing that early intervention can create better long-term outcomes for a potentially neuro-diverse child.

Finally, if you currently have a child on the autism spectrum, then consider swim lessons as one of the early therapeutic interventions known to have measurable positive results for your child, as well as the number one tool to significantly decrease their risk of drowning. Register today to find out more!

[1] https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/136/Supplement_1/S60

[2] http://healthinfo.uclahealth.org/yourfamily/children/NewsRecent/6,745624

[3] https://www.uclahealth.org/five-early-signs-of-autism

Molly Huggins

Molly is a member of our creative team, mom of four water-loving babies, and a fierce advocate for CPR training and really early swim instruction.

The post Early Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders appeared first on One with the Water.

Swimming Therapy for Stereotypical Autistic Behavior

It’s been common knowledge for some time that aquatic therapy has a myriad of positive outcomes for children with ASD. However, in 2004, some researchers set out to determine the specific effects of swimming on motor performance in children with ASD, with the following results. After ten weeks, not only did strength and flexibility increase, so did balance, agility, and power. Also, the number of stereotypic behaviors decreased by about half. These included spinning, swinging, delayed echolalia and no reaction or delayed reaction to a stimulus within 5 seconds. (2)

An additional study done of occupational therapists reported that while reducing stereotypic behaviors was a goal always addressed only half of the time, therapist-reported decrease in stereotypic behaviors reduced across all sessions over 50% of the time. (3)

The literature, while still sparse in this specific area even now, is clear. The natural repetitive motions used in swimming and therapeutic properties of the water can mimic the repetitive and self-soothing behaviors used by children with ASD.

Aquatic therapy for children and adults with an Autism Spectrum disorder offers a definitive decrease in stereotypical autistic behavior, along with the previously discussed benefits of increased cardiovascular health and better overall fitness levels, enhanced social skills, improved aquatic skills, and better adaptation to change.

At One with the Water, our founder, Coach Rippetoe Coach Kenneth has extensive knowledge of the principles used in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and the ethical considerations involved in working with children with autism. Additionally, Coach Rippetoe is a Level 4 Disability Swim Coach certified by the American Swimming Coaches Association.

Register today for our premium swim lessons.

*Sources:

(1) Dickie, V. A., Baranek, G. T., Schultz, B., Watson, L. R., & McComish, C. S. (2009). Parents’ reports of sensory experiences of preschool children with and without autism: A qualitative study. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 63(2), 172-181.

(2) Yilmaz, I., Yanarda, M., Birkan, B., & Bumin, G. (2004). Effects of swimming training on physical fitness and water orientation in autism. Pediatrics International, 46, 624–626.

(3) Dubois, M. (2011). Aquatic Therapy for Children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder: Occupational Therapists’ Perspectives.https://soundideas.pugetsound.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://scholar.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1021&context=ms_occ_therapy

Molly Huggins

Molly is a member of our creative team, mom of four water-loving babies, and a fierce advocate for CPR training and really early swim instruction.

The post The Effect of Swimming on Stereotypical Autistic Movement appeared first on One with the Water.

If you aren’t familiar with Stephanie’s Day, you should be!

Stephanie’s Day is a resource fair that provides families with children impacted by autism and other special needs ONE place to gather valuable information, enjoy fun activities and much more! (From CBS LA).

Stephanie’s Day was the brainchild of Steve Mauldin, President, and General manager of CBS2/KCAL9, after his then two-year-old daughter was diagnosed with autism. When Stephanie was diagnosed, there weren’t many resources for families of children with autism, so Steve decided to create a way to bring them all together.

“These people are really there so that families know there are different agencies all over this community that are in one place for that day, where they can find out how to make their child’s and their family’s life better.” Steve Mauldin

Initially located in Fort Lauderdale, FL in 1999, 2019 is the 20th anniversary of Stephanie’s Day, now held in Southern California, with over 50 organizations participating. From nutrition and sports training programs to job training and cutting edge therapeutic interventions, there are a wealth of resources available. (Make sure you come to see us!) Also, while Stephanie’s Day was created to help families with autism, there are plenty of resources available for special needs children of all diagnoses. Not only that, Stephanie’s Day offers a chance to network and connect with other families on the same journey.

Save the date now for Saturday, June 8, 2019, and make sure to share this with your friends!

Molly Huggins

Molly is a member of our creative team, mom of four water-loving babies, and a fierce advocate for CPR training and really early swim instruction.

The post Stephanie’s Day 2019: Save the date! appeared first on One with the Water.

“When you have a child or other family member with special needs, you face unique wealth planning challenges that other families don’t. You’re concerned about the future security of your loved one and how to preserve government benefits to which he or she may be entitled. You may also have questions about how to balance the financial needs of your family member with special needs with those of other family members.

 

Our informative seminar will guide you through the critical steps needed to navigate the services your loved one may qualify for, and help financially protect them—and the rest of your family—throughout their continued care.”

These seminars are conducted in an intimate setting over lunch (20 attendees or less), so people have an opportunity for questions and discussion. The first lunch is coming up soon on Wednesday, January 16th, at the Daily Grill (in Santa Monica) from 12:30-2:30.

See the attached flyer for more information. Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity to learn how best to care for your family’s financial needs. Please RSVP to: Sherry Godfrey, ph: 310-443-0515, sherry.godfrey@morganstanley.com OR Claire O. Nagy, claire.o.nagy@morganstanley.com.

Molly Huggins

Molly is a member of our creative team, mom of four water-loving babies, and a fierce advocate for CPR training and really early swim instruction.

The post Special Invitation for Parents of Children with Special Needs appeared first on One with the Water.

As 2018 draws to a close, we’d like to take a moment and say thank you. We can’t do what we do without your support. With your help, hundreds of children have learned the lifesaving skill of swimming, reducing their risk of drowning by up to 80% and creating happier, healthier, stronger kids 

Unfortunately,  we can’t afford to rest on those numbers. Here’s the bad news.

The Problem

According to the CDC, approximately one in five people who die from drowning are children 14 and younger. For every child who dies from drowning, another five receive emergency care for nonfatal injuries. The rate of near drowning is much higher, as not all near drownings are reported. With its miles of coastlines, a multitude of natural freshwater bodies, and an abundance of swimming pools, Californians are at increased risk for drowning and near-drowning incidents, with drowning being the leading cause of accidental death for children between the ages of 1 and 4.

Children with special needs face a higher risk of drowning, as well as other barriers to a healthy, fulfilling, more active life.

• Among children with autism, the risk of drowning increases exponentially. “Our analysis reveals that children with autism are 160 times as likely to die from drowning as the general pediatric population. Wandering often occurs with autistic children, and because children with autism often have limited social and communication skills, they may seek out bodies of water as a serene place to calm themselves and relieve anxiety. Often with tragic outcomes. Given the exceptionally heightened risk of drowning for children with autism, swimming classes should be the intervention of top priority.” – Dr. Li
• Children and youth with disabilities are at higher risk for experiencing lower levels of social-emotional well-being than their peers without limitations. They are more likely to be bullied and harassed, have a limited number of friends, and engage in fewer extracurricular activities than their peers.

Drowning prevention for members of our most vulnerable populations is literally a matter of life and death.

Now for the good news. We have a solution, and it’s simple.

The Solution

Lifesaving swim lessons, creating safer, happier, healthier, more confident kids. We can’t do it without you. As your year draws to an end, consider giving to One with the Water as part of your year-end giving plan.  

Finish strong by saving lives. Join us by donating to help provide need-based scholarships for high risk, high need children. When you give to One with the Water, you impact a child’s life on every plane – mentally, physically, and emotionally, for their lifetime. Donate today to provide the lifesaving skill of swimming to those who need it most.

Again, we are incredibly grateful for your support of One with the Water. We look forward to serving you in 2019.

Molly Huggins

Molly is a member of our creative team, mom of four water-loving babies, and a fierce advocate for CPR training and really early swim instruction.

The post Time Is Running Out. Help Us Prevent Drowning. appeared first on One with the Water.