Dubbers loves the water! From the bathtub, to sprinklers at the city playgrounds, to the pool, he has always enjoyed splashing and getting wet! We tried private swim lessons the summer he turned 3 with a company that had instructors available at various indoor pools throughout the city. Phil ended up having to get in the pool with Dubbers and the lesson would quickly change to daddy and Dubbers “swimming” around the pool with the instructor looking on. While we did not necessarily have a bad experience, it was evident we would need a group specifically experienced with teaching swimming to children with special needs.
A therapist had suggested I look into SNACK, which stands for Special Needs Activity Center for Kids. When I first contacted them, there was no availability for the fall session. Fortunately Dubbers was able to get a spot in the spring session which goes from the end of January thru end of May. We immediately knew within the first few minutes of Dubbers’ first lesson that we had found not only the right swim lessons, but an amazing new resource in SNACK. The instructor took a crying and very resistant Dubbers from my arms into the pool, and there was no turning back. Did Dubbers cry the entire time? Yes… Did he do much of anything other then cling to his instructor? No… But what was accomplished is he was in the pool (and Phil and I were not) and the instructor acted as one of his Therapists would. He knew exactly how to handle him.
As the weeks went on, Dubbers became more and more comfortable going to his swim lesson, getting in the pool without crying and actually partaking in what the instructor was teaching him. This ranged from blowing bubbles and kicking feet, to floating on his back or throwing toys into a basket. They rotate instructors, so Dubbers may not have the same person every time. They want the kids to be comfortable with many instructors and not too attached to one person.
The SNACK swim sessions are either 30 or 45 minutes long and held at the pool in St. Bart’s Church, located on Park between 50th and 51st. The lessons are private, although there could be four to five other kids with instructors in the pool at the same time. The pool is very large, so there is plenty of room for each child and for helpful “props” to facilitate teaching certain water skills. The best part is they offer a FREE TRIAL Class!
I highly recommend SNACK’s swimming program. It is truly amazing and I will continue to share more about SNACK and their other programs in the future.
Pool at St. Bart’s Church
