EFMP hosts swim camp

  • Published
  • By Kalid Knox
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -The Exceptional Family Members Program strives to build relationships between not only the families within the program but also the community in and around Travis Air Force Base, California.

The EFMP is a nationwide Air Force program responsible for providing resources to military families that have members with special needs. EFMP establishes base to base communications to provide fast and necessary accommodations for military families.

New to Travis is a four week swimming camp hosted by the EFMP with help from a community partnership with Debbie's Swim School, lead by Debbie Koenig, an off base swimming instructor. 

"The EFMP Swim Summer Camp started development in November 2015,” said Koenig. “The concept is to provide adaptive aquatic swim lessons for children with a variety of physical and developmental disorders.    Swimming and aquatic therapy is important for children with disabilities because it can address many of their body's sensory and motor needs.”

 

According to the National Autism Association, being proactive about drowning prevention is especially important for children with special needs because drowning is the leading cause of death for a child who has Autism. Accidental drowning accounted for approximately 90 percent of total U.S. deaths reported in children with autism ages 14 and younger.

 

Twice a week, the children have the opportunity to expand simple swimming and water survival skills through professional supervised instruction. The class is designed to hone in on adaptive aquatic skills for survival, such as floating, treading water and being able to swim individually.

However, the main focus of the swim camp is safety. For children, water is a risk whether it be large bodies of water, pools or even bathtubs. The swim camp is designed to help children not only recognize the risks, but also provide the skills necessary to be responsive and safe in case of an accident.

"Our specially trained instructors tailor each swim lesson to meet each individual student’s needs,” said Koenig. “They adapt, create and modify their teaching techniques based on these needs to reach each student’s goals.”

Communication is important between the instructors, parents and children so the progress is recognizable and the program remains safe and for the benefit of the child. The safe and friendly environment around them is important in building genuine friendships between both the instructors and other students in the class. The success of the EFMP swim camp has allowed the children to expand their horizons establishing a comfortable, safe and fun response to all the various aspects involving swimming and water.

"My favorite part of the EFMP is building a sense of community for special needs families," said Kevin Hamilton, EFMP family support coordinator.