BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – As part of its “Swim South Florida” campaign, Local 10 is working to raise awareness and prevent child drownings.
Florida leads the nation in these tragedies, and experts say children with special needs are 160 times more likely to drown.
Local 10 anchor Nicole Perez spoke to three mothers whose sons have special needs.
“My son Aguilos is 10 years old. He was diagnosed with ASD when he was 3,” said Maria Nikolopoulos, Aguillos’ mother.
“His name is David. He is 7 years old. He was diagnosed on the spectrum at about 3 years, 10 months,” said David’s mother, Colleen Khan.
“Frank is 13 and autistic,” said his mother, Shannon Ettaro.
Aguilos, David, and Frank all have one thing in common: They absolutely love the water.
The three boys are part of the Swim Buddies swim class at the YMCA in Weston. It is an adaptation of typical swim lessons for those with special needs ages 4 and older.
“The difference between our program and typical swim lessons is that our participants are paired one-on-one with a volunteer. The volunteer is there to work on skills that they might already know, to work on a skill that they might have just learned. And then there’s a swim instructor in the water going around and teaching them new skills,” said Jocelyn Lata, senior program director at YMCA South Florida.
Parents have seen major changes in their children’s development since the program started.
“I started to bring him to the program, he changed a lot. He was more calm, the sensory minimized a lot, and he loves swimming,” said Nikolopoulos.
“He meets new people, which is good for him socially,” said Ettaro. “He’s learning to be safe in the water and he has fun. He looks forward to this. In between seasons, he asks for it every weekend.”
“In our family, water safety and learning to swim is a non-negotiable life skill we believe is just as important as reading and writing,” Khan added.
Water safety tips
According to swim experts, here are three steps to prevent accidental drownings:
- Adult supervision – ensuring there is always someone dedicated to watching the water.
- Alarms and barriers – providing physical barriers and protecting any body of water around your home.
- Swim lessons – ensuring your child knows how to swim.
“I would like to see parents coming out and getting their kids learning how to swim. I know some parents have a fear themselves of swimming and so they don’t put their children in swim lessons,” said Lata.
From mom to mom, their message to any parent hesitant to put their child in swim classes is clear.
“The program accommodates each child. Everyone knows that each child on the spectrum is unique in every way, no two children are the same, and they adapt their program for the child,” said Khan.
Swim Buddies at the YMCA in Weston is offered year-round. The YMCA also has an adaptive recreation department that includes other activities for children with special needs in Weston and Pembroke Pines.
CLICK HERE for more information on the YMCA’s Swim Buddies program.
Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces is also offering a host of swimming classes for any skill level.
For more information, CLICK HERE.
The Florida Department of Health provides free swim coupons to residents, along with a new lifeguard and swim instructor scholarship program to help fulfill the swim instructor shortage.
For more information, visit: watersmartbroward.org.
Swim South Florida consists of public service announcements and news stories that will air on Local 10 News and across all our digital platforms. We will add more resources and updates to the Swim South Florida page as the campaign unfolds.
CLICK HERE to read all of Local 10 News’ Swim South Florida news stories and announcements.