Disclosure: This post is sponsored, however Dayton Moms Blog does not partner with businesses we do not feel bring value to our readers. Opinions expressed by this writer are 100% her own.
Raising a 4 year old child with a significant speech delay has many challenges. One of those are the frustrations and stress that accompanies extra-curricular activities. I have never wanted his speech challenges to stand in the way of opportunities to socialize with other children his own age. The harsh reality was while children are very open and flexible to those who are different, the adults running the programs were not often equipped to handle a child like mine. My guy needs directions repeated more than once and often requires firm boundaries and eye contact to participate. I could write at length on our various experiences but let’s just say I have left more than one session in tears.
When I heard about Goldfish Swim School I was apprehensive. We have signed up for other age appropriate activities with mediocre success. I was beginning to doubt our ability to participate at this point in our speech journey and seriously debated taking some time off. However, upon talking over my concerns with their staff, we decided to jump right in!
We signed up our little man for twice a week lessons and have been so pleased with his progress. In 3 months our guy can not only paddle his way to the side of the pool but he can safely swim short distances under water. He has an understanding of safe swim practices like floating on your back and how to pull yourself out of the pool without a ladder. In addition to the swimming skills he also has been able to practice social skills like turn taking, listening, and following multi-step directions. I have witnessed just as much positive growth in this area as his improved swim skills which was a wonderfully unexpected bonus!