Swimming in fun!
Eighteen times last year, six students aged 7 to 10 made the Saint-François-Xavier-de-Brompton/Sherbrooke trip to move and learn… in the water! A major challenge when we know that these children all have a moderate intellectual disability and certain physical limitations; two are in wheelchairs.
"We often talk about school perseverance, but these young people are very good examples of it : we can't imagine how much effort they have to make to achieve their goals," reminds us of the director of l'Arc school. - in Heaven, Julie Dépelteau.
The idea of offering them swimming lessons was born in 2012. “At the end of each year, the head teacher of this class welcomes the students to her home where they can swim. This is how we noticed how much they liked this activity. We therefore thought that swimming lessons could be very appropriate. All that remained was to find a pool ready to welcome us for free for a one-hour lesson every two weeks,” explains Mathieu Lajeunesse, a physical education teacher.
It was finally the Residences Soleil de Sherbrooke who gave access to their swimming pool on Friday morning. Under the supervision of Mathieu, a special education technician, a person in charge of handicapped students and the lifeguard, the young people learned the basics of swimming. “For about 30 minutes, we did different games in the water like aquafitness, then we gave the kids as much time to do what they liked. I also took at least 5 minutes per child to show them how to swim.”
One of the objectives of the course was to introduce them to aquatic activity and boating safety (so that they are well aware of the dangers and the rules to follow). We have also encouraged their acclimatization in the water (holding their breath, putting their head in the water, etc.) so that they feel comfortable there and enjoy bathing more. “During the summer, at home or elsewhere, they have the opportunity to swim and knowing what to do is obviously a plus for them. What we particularly aim at school is to promote their autonomy in their daily tasks.”
For these young people, many of whom, as they age, experience more and more muscle rigidity, being in the water has had many positive impacts. “It completely changes the way they move, it is freer, more fluid, they are less afraid of falling. Muscles and tendons become more flexible, it does them a lot of good physically. One of the students who is in a wheelchair becomes independent in the water with floats : it's a great feeling of freedom! It even creates more closeness between us, without the wheelchairs, we can take them in our arms, there is more ease in the movements,” remarks Mathieu Lajeunesse.
The experience was so beneficial that we want to make it a tradition. “We worked hard at the end of the last school year to diversify funding sources. The Christian Vachon Foundation will give us a helping hand,” says Julie Dépelteau.