Special Olympics Athletes with Physical Disabilities
Hearing Disability
Swimmers cannot wear hearing aids in the water.
Get the athlete's attention before you begin to speak.
Face the athlete when you speak. Do not obscure your mouth.
You do not have to talk loudly.
Do not over-pronounce words.
Speak slowly and precisely — come to the point.
Use demonstrations.
Teach appropriate aquatic sign language.
Face athlete when giving directions.
Use small enclosure or smaller pool area to hear better.
Remain in one place for visual and auditory reference.
Use extra lifeguards.
Visual Disability Vision impairment can range from partial vision to total blindness.
Orient blind athletes to the new environment — changing rooms, starting blocks, finish area, pool depth and other relevant details.
The pool environment can impact vision either positively or negatively, depending on lighting, glare or refraction of water.
It may be useful to have an assistant in the water to manually guide the blind swimmer through the desired movements.
Have athletes use swim goggles.
Allow the athlete to feel the movement of the demonstrator and guide the arms and legs through the desired movements.
Coaches need to use concise verbal instructions and descriptions. Use body patterning and physical assistance when teaching strokes.
Blind swimmers experience problems in maintaining direction and orientation in the water.
Teach breaststroke as early as possible, as this stroke best accommodates the blind swimmer with hands reaching in front of body. It is a useful skill for recreational swimming.
Sometimes, blind swimmers have a "tapper" assistant who uses a long stick with a soft ball attached to the end. They tap the shoulder of the swimmer just before the swimmer turns and\or finishes. The decision to use a tapper is between the coach and swimmer. The tapper needs to work with the swimmer on a regular basis. When the race is more than one pool length, two tappers are required. Some blind swimmers are extremely hesitant to finish a race without this assistance.
Keep athletes aware of their progress and motor patterns.
A lot of vision impaired swimmers are frightened when learning to dive. Simple stages and understanding are necessary. Most will learn with patience.
Some vision-impaired swimmers are not permitted to dive due to their eye condition. These swimmers are permitted to start in the water.
