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Adaptive Swim Project

Making Waves Together: Swim Programs Designed for Every Ability!

We believe that everyone deserves to feel safe and confident in the water regardless of their physical ability, sensory profile, learning style, or needs. 

Drowning is one of the leading causes of death for children ages 1–4, and research shows that some children, such as those with autism, are particularly drawn to water and face an even higher risk. This means that swimming is more than just a fun activity–it is a life-saving skill. Yet the children who would benefit most from swim instruction often face barriers in traditional swim environments. We are working to change that. 

Boston Centers for Youth and Families now offers opportunities for swim instructors to become Swim Whisperers® certified. This training, provided by Swim Angelfish, prepares instructors to teach swimmers who have developmental, emotional, neurological, physical, or sensory differences. We invite you to join us and to reach out at swim@boston.gov if there are more things we could be doing to make your family feel more welcome at our pools.

What Makes Adaptive Swim Different

In adaptive swim settings, students benefit from smaller class sizes so instructors can connect 1:1 with students to provide personalized support. Adaptive swim instructors also know how to modify their lesson structure, communication methods, and skill progression plans to better suit student needs. 

Here’s what that can look like:

  • Modifying instruction techniques to meet each student’s needs
  • Adjusting the sequence of activities based on each swimmer’s strengths
  • Customizing the pace of instruction so no one feels rushed or left behind
  • Providing additional sensory supports to guide learning (e.g. visual cues, tactile guidance, and structured learning routines)
  • Collaborating with families to understand goals, comfort levels, and preferred communication strategies

By making these adjustments, we create an environment where all swimmers learn at their own pace and are able to build comfort, water safety skills, and long-term confidence in the pool.

FAQ's

Frequently Asked Questions

Adaptive swim instruction is great for swimmers who do best in smaller settings that enable individualized support, flexible pacing, and sensory-aware instruction. 

This may include swimmers with:

  • Anxiety or fear around water
  • Sensory processing differences
  • Neurological (e.g., ADHD, Autism, etc) or developmental differences (e.g., Down syndrome)
  • Physical differences or motor planning/coordination challenges

Wondering if adaptive swim instruction is the right fit for your family? Please reach out! We’d be happy to talk through your swimmer’s needs and recommend the best next step.

 

All of our adaptive swim programming prioritizes building water comfort and water safety awareness first, then working on swim fundamentals. 

This starts with our adaptive open swim sessions, which are unstructured opportunities for families to have fun together in the pool. During adaptive open swim sessions we limit additional programming to accommodate swimmers with sensory sensitivities, and Swim Whisperers® certified staff are on hand to provide support to families as needed. Adaptive open swim sessions are available at four pools across the BCYF system.

BCYF is also proud to offer more structured lessons that help to build swim skills. 

Depending on the student, swim lessons may focus on the following skills:

  • Getting comfortable with water on the face and breath control
  • Floating and body positioning
  • Kicking and early movement in the water
  • Submersion readiness (when appropriate and at the swimmer's pace)
  • Beginning stroke development

Most importantly, there are no strict timelines. Progression is based on each swimmer's comfort, confidence, and demonstrated abilities.

Whether your swimmer is brand new to the water, has had setbacks in traditional settings, or simply needs an environment tailored to how they learn best–we welcome you!

Please join us at one of our sensory-friendly swim sessions, or reach out to swim@boston.gov to learn more.

Help Us Do More

We are always looking for ways to make our pools more welcoming and accessible for all of Boston's families. If there's something we could be doing better–whether it's a new type of programming, a change to our facilities, or something else–we want to hear from you!

Please reach out to us at swim@boston.gov. Your input will help us to continue making Boston a city for everyone.

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