Essay: Anna Jackson
ESSAY: ANNA JACKSON BUILDING CONFIDENCE AND PROVIDING SAFETY IN THE WATER - NASHVILLE DOLPHINS Growing up as a typical kid, there are challenges at each phase of life-physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. Growing up as a special needs kid, there are even more challenges than usual. Many adults and children with special needs face additional challenges throughout their lives including health issues, learning exceptions, and social isolation. According to worldbank.org “one billion people, or 15% of the world’s population, experience some form of disability.” People with disabilities are more likely to experience adverse socioeconomic outcomes such as less education, poorer health outcomes, lower levels of employment, and higher poverty rates (World Bank). In addition to the multitude of socioeconomic and emotional issues accompanied by being a person with special needs, water can also be a danger. Water is everywhere, making up seventy-one percent of the earth (USGS). Drowning is the number one cause of death for children with special needs. Often, special needs children do not understand or appreciate the danger associated with water. Luckily, in Nashville, there is a 501c(3) organization dedicated to addressing this alarming statistic. For my service scholar project, I worked with a local non-profit, Nashville Dolphins. The mission of the Nashville Dolphins is “to combat the alarmingly high statistic of drowning deaths in children and adults with special needs by providing FREE, lifelong, comprehensive adaptive aquatic lessons and training ranging from water safety and survival through competitive swim team programming.” (Nashville Dolphins). Coming into this experience, I had a lot of time in and around water under my belt. I had already been swimming competitively for eight years. I was also a trained lifeguard and had worked for several summers in that capacity as a swim coach for my summer swim team. I already knew that learning to swim had many physical benefits. However, I did not know just how much swimming could also help improve mental and emotional wellness. I was also unaware that water was such a danger to children with special needs. Throughout my time volunteering with the Nashville Dolphins, I observed many of the benefits of swimming for people with special needs. Physical Benefits of Swimming: One of the obvious benefits of swimming is physical. Swimming has been described as the best exercise in the world for the entire body (Healthline). Swimming helps build muscles, improve strength, refine balance and motor skills and improve range of motion all while working your lungs and heart. Swimming uses all the muscles in your body. Gliding through the water while swimming different strokes helps build core strength as well as improve your equilibrium and coordination. Children with special needs often have low muscle tone and trouble balancing. Swimming helps children with special needs make improvements in all areas of physical health and can also make them healthier in the long run. “Just two and a half hours per week of aerobic physical activity, such as swimming, bicycling, or running, can decrease the risk of chronic illnesses. This can also lead to improved health for people with diabetes and heart disease.” (CDC) According to
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