Like most Orange County parents, Irvine resident Lisa Chinn wanted her young twins, Dennis and Gwendolyn, to learn water safety as soon as possible.
She enrolled them in local swim lessons. However, with the twins’ autism diagnoses and subsequent special needs, Chinn quickly discovered that a standard community learn-to-swim program wasn’t going to be effective for her children.
“There were a lot of kids there, in a big open pool,” says Chinn of their first swim lesson experience. “Even though they had one-on-one instruction, it was loud and chaotic and I found they weren’t learning much.”
Chinn heard about an Orange County swim school that has a unique approach to teaching kids to swim, including providing sensitivities to those with special needs. SwimLabs OC [swimlabs.com] houses three small, above-ground, heated pools within an indoor facility. The pools each feature a remote-controlled constant current that acts like a treadmill and can be adjusted to the needs of each swimmer.
After Chinn brought her 7-year-olds to the Lake Forest swim school to give it a try, both she and her kids came away with positive results.
“It’s been wonderful,” says Chinn of her experience at SwimLabs OC. “It’s all indoors, so the water temperature is warm and can be controlled. They receive individualized training, and it’s in a much less chaotic environment, which my kids really need.”
Another unique aspect to the training methods used at SwimLabs OC is instant video feedback. Each of the three pools is equipped with three cameras, including one camera mounted underwater, that capture a full 360-degree view of the swimmer’s stroke. There is a television screen mounted above each pool so the instructors can show the swimmers their progress instantly.
“Most people are visual learners, and having a way for the swimmers to see their progress can be very helpful,” says Kathy Rose, an instructor at SwimLabs OC. “It’s the same type of training method and feedback technology used at the U.S. Olympic training center [in Colorado Springs, Colo].”
Chinn, who now brings her twins to SwimLabs OC once or twice a week, says that the television screens in the facility are useful for learning from other swimmers as well.
“My kids watch the older kids train, and watching others helps them see what they are supposed to be doing when they are in the pool,” she says.
In addition to technology and a quiet environment, SwimLabs’ teachers have been trained specifically to work with people with special needs.
Chinn notes: “The instructors are wonderful and so patient. They keep it personalized and are sensitive to each of my children’s needs, which is good, because each of my kids is different, with a different personality.
“The one-on-one training is very focused, but the instructors don’t force my kids to do anything. They instead encourage them to come out of their comfort zone. They feel safe with these instructors, and that’s so important. They’ve helped my kids make a great deal of progress.”
Rose adds: “Some special-needs families like the one-to-one instruction, while others prefer for their kids to be a part of a small group. This offers a way to foster socialization, but we will always keep the ratio of swimmers to instructor at 4-to-1 or less.”
SwimLabs OC received a water safety grant from Autism Speaks, a national autism advocacy group that increases awareness of the disorder by supporting families and raising funds toward research. This grant money can be used to provide financial assistance to special-needs families, like Chinn’s, who come to SwimLabs OC looking to help their kids become water safe.
In addition to their work with special-needs families, SwimLabs OC works with all swimmers of all ages. The swim school offers Parent and Tot classes that are designed for parents and their children ages 1-3 years old. From those who are learning to swim for the first time to those who are looking for supplemental training in mastering stroke techniques, SwimLabs OC has a range of group and private lessons for children and adults.
“We come alongside other coaches and work with them — not against them — in helping their swimmers improve specific techniques,” says Rose. “We have a large video library of elite athletes that can be used in the teaching process to show swimmers how to improve their strokes.
The use of the pool cameras and video analysis software allows each swimmer to receive on-the-spot correction. And we can email each of the lessons to the swimmers as well.”
In an area such as Orange County, considered by many to be a hotbed for producing successful swimmers, including several Olympic champions, Chinn is grateful for a place where her kids can learn to be water safe in an environment that accommodates their needs.
“This has been a great way for my kids to get the occupational therapy they need, year-round, that they actually enjoy,” says Chinn. “I would love for them to be able to have a sport they can participate in someday when they’re older. Maybe it can be swimming.”
Jenelyn Russo has two daughters, 12 and 9, and lives in North Tustin.
