Helping Children with Autism – another national first for Inverness Leisure
Issued by Inverness Leisure
Inverness Leisure is delighted to announce the launch of its free Swim Access Scheme for families affected by Autism to coincide with the start of the London 2012 Paralympics.
Management at Inverness Leisure have been working with the National Autistic Society Scotland to develop what they believe to be the first family access scheme of its kind in the whole country. So-much-so that Inverness Leisure’s scheme was one of the first to be awarded support funding from the Scottish Government’s new fund to support Autism awareness.
James Martin, General Manager at Inverness Leisure explained, “A customer had brought it to my personal attention the difficulty and expense they had experienced in bringing their son to the pool, only to leave almost as soon as they had got in the water due to the experience being too stressful for their child.
“All our coaching and instruction staff had previously received training on working with children on the Autistic Spectrum from the National Autistic Society and Highland Council’s outreach team, so we had a good working understanding of the needs of children with Autism.
“However, we took on board what the customer had said and decided to do something about it. I contacted the local office of the NAS and we immediately met to start considering ways in which we could make sure other families didn’t have the same experiences.
“As a company, Inverness Leisure has always prided itself on working with customers and groups to overcome challenges and find ways in which everyone has equal access to our multi-award winning facilities. So we set ourselves a target to create a scheme that would go beyond simply offering access to the pools; we wanted to develop something that offered families the chance to prepare themselves for coming and be confident that Inverness Leisure as a great option for a family day out.
Explaining the scheme, the General Manager outlined, “Working in partnership with the NAS Scotland we worked to develop a full illustrated booklet that will be offered to parents and carers detailing the various experiences and sensations they may come across when they come swimming at the pool.
“To compliment the information booklet, we are also giving away six free family swim vouchers offering families the opportunity to come along and ‘acclimatise’ themselves with swimming at Inverness Leisure with no costs being incurred.
“The fact we have both standard pool swimming as well as a fun pool with flumes means that families have a choice about what ‘experience’ they may want when they use their free family access vouchers.
He went on, “Swimming is a life-skill and it is important that everyone has access to water in order to build their understanding and confidence. And while the scheme offers an introduction to swimming it also has the additional benefit of introducing children on the Autistic Spectrum to a very family based activity giving them the opportunity to improve their social development skills.
Commenting, Dr Robert Moffat, national director of the National Autistic Society Scotland said, “NAS Scotland is delighted with the time, imagination and expertise the staff of Inverness Leisure have put into helping people with autism and their families feel welcome and supported.“
Dr Moffat continues, “An estimated 50,000 people in Scotland have autism, with nearly 1000 thought to live in the city of Inverness. From the outside, people with the condition can appear to be functioning well, while often experiencing severe challenges in communication and social situations. Many can experience isolation and loneliness, and struggle to understand the world around them.
“Most people with autism want the same social and leisure opportunities most of us take for granted. They just need the right support at the right time to help them do this.
“The free Swim Access Scheme is a great opportunity for people with autism and their families to enjoy some healthy fun. It could even be an important first step for a budding local Paralympian. NAS Scotland is encouraging leisure facilities across Scotland to take Inverness’ lead and make a similar real, positive impact in their local communities.”
James Martin concluded, “We are extremely proud to have created this access scheme in order to help families throughout the area access our swimming facilities.
“I am grateful to both the NAS Scotland staff for their support and encouragement throughout the process as well as to the Scottish Government for financially supporting this initiative.
“Feedback for the scheme has already been absolutely terrific – and that’s before we launch it. With all the work that has gone into developing the Parent booklet and the overall scheme, we only hope that Inverness Leisure’s scheme may be used as a template for other swimming pools to pick up on.”