A student enrolled in the Pasadena, California, Art Center College of Design at the time of the Project Elle, Ms. Tosin was driven by her desire to create functional design and meaningful human experience that changes the way people think, feel, and do.

Project Elle

One with the Water® provided professional participation as a mentor and swimming expert.  Coach Kenneth Rippetoe co-designed a prosthetic leg used as swimwear that would most replicate and assist an amputee while swimming, to overcome a lack of balance, help the swimmer gain stability, and have the same mechanical advantages of a human leg.

The most prominent design challenges to the project, according to Ms. Tosin herself, included compensating for the imbalanced buoyancy created by a missing limb, the multifunctionality needed for launch, swimming, and turning, and finally, ensuring a comfortable, secure fit capable of handling the workload.

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Final Design

The final design featured a support liner and elastic bands sewn into compression fabrics. We created an adjustable air chamber to provide buoyancy for maintaining the streamline position. The “ankle” is flexible to optimize starts and turns, and the device comes with an interchangeable fin, depending on the swimmer’s foot size.

The result? Elle, A game-changing prosthetic device for single-leg below the knee amputees to swim and compete with their peers, now with swimwear available as well.

For more information on the product, check out Della’s website here.

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 Project Elle Revisited: Prosthetic Swimming Leg appeared first on One with the Water.

Parts of the country are opening up in waves, and summer temps are setting in. We here at One with the Water are providing you a quick update on the pools, parks, and beaches in LA County and the surrounding areas.

In May, Los Angeles County announced a new safer at home order that could be possibly extended through July. This safer at home order increases the number of businesses designated low risk, including outdoor recreation areas. Masks and social distancing are still required, but tennis courts, pickleball courts, shooting ranges, equestrian centers, bike parks, community gardens and more are currently re-opening for public use.

Public Pools and Beaches

Unfortunately, that doesn’t include pools for now. According to the LA County Safer At Home initiative, public pools in LA County remain closed for now.

Safer At Home Order: Examples of Openings

The good news, however, is that the County of Los Angeles has reopened beaches in limited ways to allow residents more outdoor recreation options.

“Staying physically active is one of the best ways to keep your mind and body healthy. Using public beaches can be an important way to relieve stress, get some fresh air and vitamin D, stay active, and safely connect with nature. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucially important that you follow these public health beach use requirements below in order to use beaches in a way that keeps you and others healthy.”

Public Health Protocol for reopening beaches.

Stay tuned for more updates.  We can’t wait to get back in the pool 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 Update on Public Pools: Los Angeles County 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.

One with the Water, a nonprofit swim school dedicated to providing access to the lifesaving skill of swimming to everyone, especially children and adults with high risk, high needs, and limited resources, is honored and pleased to announce they’ve been awarded a generous grant from the Santa Monica chapter of the international Kiwanis organization. One with the Water will use the money provided to fund individual scholarships for special needs children with limited financial resources.

In past years, Kiwanis grant money received has been gifted to a wide range of children with issues ranging from COPD, downs syndrome, and heart conditions to Fragile X, severe autism, and ADHD. Without fail, the opportunity to become one with the water while learning to swim has had a profound positive effect on these courageous, committed athletes. We look forward to what another year will bring.

About One with the Water

One with the Water believes that everyone deserves access to the lifesaving skill of swimming, especially children and adults with high risk, high needs, and limited resources. Swimming lessons are taught using growth-mindset techniques, creating transformative miracles in their students both in and out of the water, as they shift from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. The organization is staffed by professional swimmers, expert competitive swimmers, and former Olympians. Founder, Executive Director, and Head Coach Kenneth Rippetoe has a Level 5 Disability Certification with the American Swimming Coaches Association and has trained with Kahlon Family Services and Inizio Interventions to help children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other special needs. Tax-deductible donations to the One with the Water Swimming Foundation can be made at the organization’s website: OneWithTheWater.org.

About Kiwanis Club of Santa Monica

The mission of the international Kiwanis organization is to empower communities to improve the world by making lasting differences in the lives of children. Established in 1922, the Kiwanis Club of Santa Monica is one of the top contributors to the children and community of Santa Monica, providing $30,000 worth of college scholarships last year and volunteering both time and money to support the local Boys and Girls clubs and multiple other local nonprofits serving the children of Santa Monica.

Contact:

For more information, visit www.kiwanisclubsm.org
Media Inquiries: One with the Water: 323.364.Swim (7946)
Website: OneWithTheWater.org

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 One with the Water Awarded New Kiwanis Club Grant appeared first on One with the Water.

Water is one of the essential elements for survival. Simply put, life would not exist without it. Yet, the beauty of water goes beyond the forging of a living soul. Water creates endless possibilities within life. Water carries us from shore to shore on Earth. Water purifies, cleanses, and blesses. Water allows us to feel free and alive as it swirls around inside of us in a steady movement carrying the secrets of our ambiances. As water mystically flows around, it appears as though it has no direction or course. No path until a human being jumps, dives, steps, or plunges into the depths of its greatness, and suddenly water is filled with the deepest passion and purpose.

I know this because I have personally witnessed how the humble element of water can influence one’s life. Starting from a young age, I have simply been in love with the water. I remember swimming in pools, oceans, and lakes for hours upon end. The water fostered my self-confidence and self-worth as it embraced me for who I was as a person without questioning or judging me.

My relationship with water.

Water has been a soothing constant and its prominence has had immense guidance throughout my life. When I was ten years old, I learned about Gertrude Ederle, the first woman to successfully swim across the English Channel. I remember looking at my dad and assertively telling him, “Dad, one day I will swim across the English Channel, too.” Ten years later, starting on the rocky shores of Dover, England and swimming all the way to mossy boulders on the coast of Calais, France awakened a burning light inside of me that will ignite for eternity. I found myself craving more intimate experiences with the oceans, and my appetite for marathon swimming was aroused. The following year, I swam across Catalina Channel and the English Channel for a second time raising over $20,000 for Alzheimer’s research.

My relationship with water goes beyond the sport of swimming. It runs much deeper as the water has shaped me into who I am as a person today on many levels. As I prepare for my next event, I plan to support a non-profit organization that shares my adoration for the water. This coming September, I plan to complete my “triple crown” of swimming by racing in the 20 Bridges Swim, which is a 28-mile swim around the island of Manhattan. Along with achieving a lifelong goal of mine, I want to spread my enthusiasm for swimming to others.

One with the Water

One with the Water is a non-profit that provides access to the lifesaving skill of swimming to everyone, especially children and adults with high risk, high needs, and limited resources. The organization relies on donations to provide financial assistance to families and people who need swim lessons but cannot afford it. Swimming is a lifesaving skill as drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1-14. With this, providing people with swim lessons goes beyond just helping them learn how to swim. It also nurtures them with confidence, esteem, worth, and discovery, which are vital components to development as a human being. Water is one of the essential elements for survival in many ways. When I swim, I feel like I am truly One with the Water. 

As I embark on my next journey in the open and free waters of New York, I aspire to allow others to also become One with the Water and dive into the vastness of endless possibilities.

-Danielle Wahl, Marathon Swimmer.

Register for our exclusive open water swim clinic this May, taught by Danielle and plus we’d love you to click here to support Danielle’s Manhattan Swim and donate to One With the Water. CLICK HERE>

Danielle has 18 years of competitive open water swimming experience. Danielle competed at the national level in high school swimming in races such as the FINA Open Water National Championships. She also swam in college competing at the NCAAs and was a three-time All American athlete. Danielle has successfully crossed the English Channel two times (2013, 2014). Her English Channel swim in 2013 was the fastest swim of the season with a time of 9 hours and 49 minutes. In addition, Danielle has successfully crossed Catalina Channel (2014). This coming September, Danielle plans to swim Manhattan, which will complete her “Triple Crown.” On top of her swimming experience, Danielle has her Master’s degree in Sport and Performance Psychology and is extensively trained on the mental side of sport, performance and marathon swimming.

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 Danielle Wahl is One with the Water appeared first on One with the Water.

Southern California friends! Here is the AMAZING new line-up of films through April.

• February 29:    Call of the Wild
• March 14:         Onward
• April 4:              Mulan
• April 11:           Peter Rabbit 2
• April 25:           Trolls World Tour

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 Movie Grill – GLENDALE: NEW LOCATION 128 Artsakh Avenue, Glendale, CA 91206

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 Free Movies for Families with Special Needs: Spring Line-up 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.

One with the Water, a non-profit swim school dedicated to providing access to the lifesaving skill of swimming to everyone, especially children and adults with high risk, high needs, and limited resources, is honored and pleased to announce they’ve been awarded a generous grant from the Santa Monica chapter of the international Kiwanis organization. Approaching their eighth anniversary this August, One with the Water will use the money provided to fund individual scholarships for special needs children with limited financial resources. Children like Nicole.

Nicole was born healthy. For seven years, she was a normal, happy vivacious girl – until the seizures started. At age seven, she was diagnosed with epilepsy, which spiraled rapidly out of control. Therapy, medication, nothing worked to slow her seizures, which culminated in a seizure that left her with permanent damage on her right side.

When Nicole started swimming lessons with One with the Water, she rolled onto the pool deck in a wheelchair. Now, she walks onto the pool deck with her mother and brother each day, a huge grin on her face. The benefits of swimming are evident in all her therapies, increasing her strength and mobility at a rapid rate. She loves the water most though, and for those thirty minutes each time, she works hard, stretching her arms across the lane, stitching uncooperative muscle fiber and wayward neurons back together. For Nicole, swimming has restored her in more ways than one.

About One with the Water

One with the Water believes that everyone deserves access to the lifesaving skill of swimming, especially children and adults with high risk, high needs, and limited resources. Swimming lessons are taught using growth-mindset techniques, creating transformative miracles in their students both in and out of the water, as they shift from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. The organization is staffed by professional swimmers, expert competitive swimmers, and former Olympians. Founder, Executive Director, and Head Coach Kenneth Rippetoe has a Level 5 Disability Certification with the American Swimming Coaches Association and has trained with Kahlon Family Services and Inizio Interventions to help children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other special needs. Tax-deductible donations to the One with the Water Swimming Foundation can be made at the organization’s website: OneWithTheWater.org.

About Kiwanis Club of Santa Monica

The mission of the international Kiwanis organization is to empower communities to improve the world by making lasting differences in the lives of children. Established in 1922, the Kiwanis Club of Santa Monica is one of the top contributors to the children and community of Santa Monica, providing $30,000 worth of college scholarships last year and volunteering both time and money to support the local Boys and Girls clubs and multiple other local nonprofits serving the children of Santa Monica.

For more information, visit www.kiwanisclubsm.org
Media Inquiries: One with the Water: 323.364.Swim (7946)
Website: OneWithTheWater.org

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 One With The Water Receives Generous Grant from Kiwanis Club of Santa Monica appeared first on One with the Water.

Attention Southern California friends: we always love to tell you when opportunities arise for our special needs families, even when they don’t relate to swimming. To that end, Studio Movie Grill (southern California) is offering FREE Saturday movie screenings for children with special needs (siblings too!)

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 before-noon price.

Summer Schedule and Locations

• July 13^th          Spider-Man: Far From Home
• July 27^th          Disney’s The Lion King
• August 17^th    Dora and The Lost City of Gold

And Coming Soon

• Angry Birds
• Abominable
• The Addams Family

Special Needs Screenings are shown on Saturday at 11:00am 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

Enjoy the movies with your family!

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 Free Saturday Movies for Special Needs Families appeared first on One with the Water.