COMMUNITY
Just Keep
SWIMMING “Safe Swimming for All” provides children with disabilities a chance to get comfortable in the water. BY CAROLINE GILLEN | PHOTOS BY SAM WARREN | DESIGN BY ALLY PARKER
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or 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 Gianna Petrella, Founder and Director of Safe Swimming For All in Athens, Ohio into the program is assessed greets her student Ruby Strickland at a fundraiser event on April 12, 2023. and given goals that are made
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backdrop | Spring 2023