Just Keep SWIMMING

BY CAROLINE GILLEN | PHOTOS BY SAM WARREN | DESIGN BY ALLY PARKER

For many children, going to the pool to swim is an accessible activity that brings them joy, but there are children who do not have the same opportunity to enjoy the water.

Gianna Petrella, a junior at Ohio University studying communication sciences and disorders, wants to make sure every kid gets a chance to learn how to enjoy swimming.

Petrella is both the director and founder of “Safe Swimming for All.” The program is designed to give children who have disabilities the opportunity to learn swimming skills in a safe and welcoming environment. This past semester, Petrella implemented her swim program in Athens.

“The program is based on my philosophy that all children can learn,” Petrella says.

According to the National Autism Association, “the risk of drowning is twice as high for children with [autistic spectrum disorder].” Swim programs like Safe Swimming for All teach life skills that can prevent drowning among children who have autism, for example.

Petrella founded this program in 2018 for her hometown in Pennsylvania and has recently brought it to Athens with the help of the Appalachian Family Center for Autism and Disability Resources and Education (AF-CADRE). AF-CADRE is a nonprofit organization that empowers individuals who have disabilities and their families.

Safe Swimming for All contains six weekly sessions. These are goalbased sessions with lessons designed for each individual student. The set goals allow the instructors a clear understanding of what each child should accomplish by the end of their experience.

“Every child who comes into the program is assessed and given goals that are made between the swim team as well as the family,” Petrella says. Samantha Beatty heard about the swim program through the AF-CADRE Facebook page and signed up her six-year-old son, James. James participated in the program this spring where he was given various goals to accomplish. The first goal he was given was to blow bubbles and put his head under the water, and he progressed to feeling more comfortable in the water. By the end of the program, James was able to tread water on his own and float on his back.

The main goal the program aims to accomplish for all the students is getting them to the point where they can feel safer around water. Getting children with disabilities in the water is the first step to making swimming accessible for everyone.

“The swim program was great,” Beatty says. “James loves water and, like a lot of autistic children, water can be really dangerous because he doesn’t recognize danger. I’ve looked into getting him swimming classes before but no one in our area offers classes for children with disabilities so I was really excited to have this opportunity.”

Understood.org is a nonprofit dedicated to helping people who learn and think differently to thrive. According to Understood.org, a “one-size-fits all” type of learning for people with the same disability is counterproductive. All children learn skills at different paces, and personalized learning is “tailored to meet each student’s strengths, skills, needs, and interests.” Safe Swimming for All’s personalized lessons allow for each student to learn the way that is best for them.

Beatty saw the swim program as such an important opportunity that she drove every Saturday 40 minutes back and forth to allow her son to attend.

According to Petrella, Safe Swimming for All currently has 12 participants who work with swim instructors once a week to get them closer to having fun in the water. All of the volunteer swim teachers in the program are currently OU students. Each volunteer swim teacher completes a training and background check prior to working with the students.

Ava Meier, a junior studying communication sciences and disorders, is one of the student volunteers.

“Gianna is a classmate of mine,” Meier says. “She said she was going to bring [the program] to Athens and she described it, and it seemed like something totally in my lane. I love to help people and watch people grow, so I got involved as soon as I could.”

For Petrella, swimming has always been a passion and one she decided to share with children who are often overlooked when it comes to the activity. She created a safe space to teach these children life skills and the chance to prove many people wrong.

“My favorite memory is seeing all of their faces getting their awards and seeing their family’s faces,” Petrella says. “Because this [was] one of the first activities their child was able to participate in where they got to do an award ceremony.”

Petrella hopes to continue doing the swim program next year and even plans to have one over the summer.

“We want to do it again,” Beatty says. “So, we’re really excited. We’re on the waiting list to do it again because everybody involved was absolutely amazing working with these kids. b