Yellowknife pool offering sensory-friendly swims

The City of Yellowknife says Ruth Inch Memorial Pool is opening sensory-friendly swim sessions to residents this month.

Pool supervisor Riley Janes said he believes this is the first time the city is offering a sensory-friendly swim option that locals will be able to access for 50-minutes every Friday at 3pm throughout the month.

“I don’t think we’ve done something like this before. That has been on my radar for the last few months to add one in,” Janes told Cabin Radio.

The slot is intended to be free of loud music, whistles or bright lights, which can sometimes affect people with sensory sensitivity. Moreover, the swim is intentionally scheduled at a time when the pool would have fewer people, providing a “much calmer” environment than a traditional swim.

“Our pool is very, very busy. We’re the only pool in Yellowknife. During times like public swim and family swim, it may not be best for groups with sensory needs, because it’s very loud and very busy,” Janes said

Janes said a group of residents with sensory needs come to the pool for a swim once a week. He said that prompted the city to create a session to accommodate the group’s needs while also making the swim accessible to all residents.

Program could extend past August

Janes said the pool plans take public feedback at the end of August to assess the community’s needs. The sessions could potentially continue through the fall, he said, although sustaining an extra program will depend on the availability of staff.

“We do our best to cater to the needs of the community, but of course, it is always going to be dependent on staffing. Sometimes, we need to prioritize programs such as a lesson or public swim or lane swim in order to serve the most residents that we can,” he said.

“My hope is that we can carry this program into the fall and have this program become a regular part of our regular schedule.”

This summer, staff shortages have not been an issue at the pool, he said, which has allowed the city to offer the additional program this month. Along with supervisor Janes, the pool currently has 24 part-time casual lifeguards and six full-time, in addition to front desk staff and maintainers.

A new aquatic centre is expected to open this fall. Whether a similar program will be part of that facility’s schedule is currently unclear.

‘It’s truly his happy place’

Meanwhile, some parents within the city have spoken about the challenges of not having enough after-school programs that cater to children with additional needs.

In June, Yellowknife resident Katie Johnson said programs that accommodate a support worker for children who need more assistance often don’t stretch through the whole summer. This left little room for her six-year-old son Eddie, who is autistic, to enjoy vacation days like other children who don’t require that support.

Asked about the sensory-friendly program at the pool, Johnson said she is excited to try out the session when she is back in the city.

“I am very happy to see this new option for accessing the pool. For my autistic son, swimming and being in the water is a big sensory-seeking activity and it’s truly his happy place,” she said.

“Sometimes the pool can be overwhelming with a lot of people, noise, busy change rooms etc. and that can cause my son to get overwhelmed and dysregulated. This means we have to carefully plan when we go to the pool, despite the water being his favourite place.”

Johnson points to swim programs for people with disabilities like SwimAbilities and Autism Swim that are available in communities down south. She hopes for the city to have more specialized swimming programs for autistic children to learn basic swim lessons.

According to a 2017 study from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, the risk of drowning for children with autism is 160 times that of the general pediatric population.

“For children who wander away, water safety can also be a big concern, with drownings involved in 70 percent of deaths during wandering events. Teaching all kids basic swim skills is an important life skill and the need increases with Autism Spectrum Disorder,” Johnson added.

Need for more sensory-friendly services

Stephanie Williams, a spokesperson for the NWT Disabilities Council, said some families have “expressed a strong need” for more inclusive and accommodating options for children with disabilities, particularly when it comes to recreational activities.

“Many residents expressed genuine concern about the absence of sensory-friendly services at local facilities,” Williams said in an email.

“Hearing about the new sensory-friendly swim option at the Yellowknife swimming pool is extremely exciting. We believe this initiative will significantly benefit families with children who have sensory needs.

“Many families remain eager for more opportunities like this, and we anticipate they will also share their enthusiasm for this new option, which gives us hope for a more inclusive community.”