Re: Swimming Lessons/ specialneedsaquatics.org

[Guest guest]

Marino Swim Central Adaptive Aquatics Certification

In April, 2006, Dan Marino traveled to Tallahassee in support of

House Bill 1319 sponsored by Representative Goldstein. The

Bill was unanimously passed in both the Florida House of

Representatives and the Senate on April 28, 2006. HB 1319 requires

certification of swimming instructors working with people with

developmental delays and is imperative to the safety of these

individuals. The Foundation received funding to develop and

implement the instructor training program.

This program is particularly important to the Marinos, as one of the

Center's families lost a child to drowning. Antoine was a very

frequent visitor to the Center, having been diagnosed with autism as

well as some physical impairment. It was a place he loved to come

to, and his family always felt very welcome. Antoine drowned six

months after this picture was taken. Antoine is one of many children

with disabilities that drown in Florida due to the inaccessibility

and unavailability of appropriate swimming programs. It is ironic

that although he gained many, many skills at the Center and his

family was so proud, the one he didn't have access to would have

made all the difference.

Miami Children's Hospital Dan Marino Center National Aquatic Facility

In 2006, the Dan Marino Foundation funded the construction of an

adaptive facility at the Miami Children's Hospital Dan Marino Center

to develop a nationally-recognized aquatic program for children with

special needs. The pool facility is scheduled for completion at the

end of 2007 and will integrate many of the existing services at the

Center and throughout the Miami Children's Hospital. The aquatic

facility will provide access for children with special needs to

participate in both individual and group activities for recreation

and increased physical activity outside of a clinical therapy

environment

Pediatric programs will include:

1. Aqua Therapy (water-based physical, occupational, and speech-

language therapies)

2. Health, Wellness, and Prevention Programs

3. DMC-SMILE (Dan Marino Center Structured Multimodal Interactive

Language Enrichment)

4. Swimming lessons and water safety courses geared specifically for

special needs children in partnership with Swim Central of Broward

County.

5. CAMP DMC, the Center's summer program, will add an aquatic

component to its curriculum

6. Sport/Orthopedic Injury Rehabilitation Aquatic Program.

www.specialneedsaquatics.org

>

> Hi

>

> Can anyone advise on where I can take my 3 year old ASD son for

swimming

> lessons ?

>

> Since he's not really verbal , I want to find someone who knows

how to

> handle autistic children

>

> Thanks

>