Infant & Toddler Class

From 6 month - 3 years old

1 The atmosphere and safety around the pool

• Escort your child to the pool by walking around it and show them where they can play safely at the shallow pool area.
• Talk to your children about how to safely play in the water and other objects in the water
• Determine the suitable climate and temperature, not too cold or too hot, for them

2 Bathing habits at home

• The first lesson we will instruct our students are how to pour water onto their face or heads. Parents can create a safe bathing habit with shower devices or water bucket by gradually pour water on the children's face until they are accustomed to it.

3 Getting into a Pool for the First Time

• Parents have to be sure of the depth of the shallow (40-60 cm) and the deep pool 
• At first, children should get to the shallow pool so that they feel comfortable and enjoy themselves
• For infants, the shallow pool offers a more suitable temperature than the deep pool (warmer) as infants prefer warmer water to the cool one. They may cry if the water is cold.
• For children aged 2 to 3 years, parents should teach them to put their feet into the most shallow area of the pool after which, they should be encouraged to move gradually to the deep area of the pool at their chest level.

4 Objects and toys in the pool

• Infants and children like to play, therefore we need to choose safe objects for them to play with while assisting them to learn how to swim.
• Safety materials (e.g. life jackets) are not for teaching swimming, and we do not use them as children tend to not practicing properly if they wear ones, resulting in a slow performance.
• Objects such as swimming noodles, rubber fish, swim rings, color balls, plastic fish, swim lines, swim boards and more.

5 Lesson on Diving in the Water

A. Face Water Splashing

The first lesson is to teach infants or children to dive into the water without fear and breathing confusion

• Pour water on infants and children so that they are accustomed to it while the parents are observing them.
• Do they cry every time you splash?
• Do they open their mouth widely (swallow the water)?
• Do they move their heads to avoid the water?
• Do they breath in or choke? Repeated scratching of their heads
• Do they wink their eyes?

We observe them until they no longer show the above conditions, then we start pouring water gently on them, and briefly dip them into the water for 2-3 seconds. Observe their reaction after they rise to see if they cry. If they do, we will need to repeat the pouring step again. If they do not, that is a positive sign toward dipping into the water without pouring any more water on their face first. We need to perform the step gradually, though.

• At the same time, we can also start other activities besides pouring the water on their face, such as splashing at them or tapping on the water surface to get the water to splash onto their faces.

B. Instruction Language

- Language is very important for instructing infants and young children as some of them still can't speak or reply. We use sound message or sign languages to represent activities so that they recognize them. 
We use both English and Khmer. However, in few cases, we use English for technical terms, but these are short words which are easily recognized and performed by infants or children.
Before diving in the water, we build a habit of counting number in Khmer or English. 1! 2! 3! Go to signal them to be ready to dive into the water safely.
C. Jumping
Jumping into the pool is key to creating confidence in children, meaning, to jump into the water, it creates an opportunity for them to dive into the water. For infants, we just let them sit in the pool with our hands as support below their armpits, and we lower them slowly for a brief dip in the water.

6 Lessons on Floating

• Floating in the water is an important lessons to self rescue and all level of students need to learn how to float in the water.
• At first as they float, infants and children usually cry, move around and upside down.
• The first step to teach them is to let them play with a toy they like, and put their head on our shoulders with one of our hand supporting their feet, and another their back. If they do not move, we try to nudge their head away from our shoulder little by little till their head and ears are in the water as we get them to look upward using a toy.

Note: For children between 1 and a half to 3 years, parents will need to work hard as they would feel water entering the ears or ear sensation.

Autism Swim Class

From 3-15 years old

1. Information About Children With Autism In Swimming Classes

• Our club has experiences in teaching 50 children with autism.
• They are all boys between the ages of 3-6 years.
• Some guardians provides our club with information related to their son's condition
• Some parents, though, did not provide us any information with regards to their son's condition as they were probably unaware that they son had autism.

2. Class Activities of Children with Autism

• They liked to jump repeatedly with their toes first into the shallow pool.
• Used cartoon language especially, gimme (give me)
• Did not blow the bubbles or dip their face into the water themselves
• Picked up the instruction materials and threw them into the water, sometimes hitting other children
• Self hurt or hit and kicked the instructor
• Did not look nor talk to the instructor
• Screamed or cried as the instructor delivered a lesson
• Looked up as the instructor tried to dip them into the water
• Some children refused to wear swim glasses to swim, some wore briefly and asked to remove them
• Some children were scared of the deep pool, cried and refused to learn in the deep pool
• Some children did not notice whether the pool was shallow or deep
• Able to swim without blowing bubbles or dipping their face in the water over a period of time
• Used swim noodles to swim as they wish without any regards to the lesson
• Some liked to dive and did so repeatedly without blowing bubbles
• Most of them could speak English, know all the colors and numbers, etc.
• Kicked with a lot of knee movements, swam vertically, used a lot of effort, and got exhausted
• If feeling good, sang and danced cartoon songs or English such as baby shark
• Others.

3. How children with autism differ from normal children?

• Children with autism need more time to learn swimming than normal children.
• The lessons we offer feature pictures and texts in English
• Children with autism can swim without submerging their heads into the water surface better than normal children for early swimming level.
• The instructors and the guardians need patience because children with autism do as what they want

4. Swimming Lessons for Children with Autism
Preparation of materials and training devices

• Lessons with photos, colors, words and technical visuals as well as photos of the training materials
• Analyze the development of their level from lowest to highest
• Instruction materials such as fish toys, water bucket, kickboard, swim noodles

Communicating to children with autism

• Short and simple words in English or Khmer
• Instructor try to put toys they like in front of us so that they look at us
• Counting number 1, 2, 3 regularly during the lesson practice, such as jumping or diving.
• Use positive encouragement on the activities they can perform

Instruction period

• Children under 4 years old should be instructed for only 30 minutes. For children over 4 years old, the instruction can last between 45-60 minutes.
• The instructor should allow time for them to rest and do other things they like
• Select the appropriate time for them, that is not too hot nor too cold

Lesson implementation

• There are many activities in swimming lessons; however, only some can be implemented by children with autism
• The instruction is in the reverse order compared to normal children
• The lessons to be implemented are all related to self rescue, how to hold the instruction materials and how to hold onto the wall. 
• Repeated activities for dog paddle lesson and floating
• 2 instructors to practice the lesson so that they can move from one to another
• Children with autism can not swim in groups among other children in order to maintain high safety level

7. The Benefits of Swimming for Children with Autism
Relationships

• Create a relationship between them and their instructors as well as other students
• The chance for them to express themselves on what they want to do
• Develop skills in listening to the technical language or reading short words to learn to swim

Swimming and how to swim by oneself

• Children with autism can swim a short distance of only 5-8 meters
• They can swim mostly in vertical position and by moving their body constantly
• Swim with their heads up in vertical position with hand movements
• They can float on the water but can't stay still for long and want to raise their heads
• Like to swim in deep water with various practice materials 

Physical and mental health

• Children acquire the flexibility and mobility
• Eat better and sleep better after the class
• Develop their brain and consciousness
• Reduce fear and feel good
• Understand the regular training habit and timing
• Develop gross motor skill and fine motor skill
• Develop body strength and improve muscle growth
• Others