If you have any colleges nearby then I think it’s worth asking about student programs they may have. That’s how our children are able to get one-to-one (or two-to-one!) swim lessons all year at the indoor pool on one campus, the greatly discounted graduate student speech therapy services, and the adaptive PE. These are geared towards children with special needs but they also welcome siblings in the swimming & PE programs. We’ve been attending for the last couple years and it’s been a great experience. Here are some photos they shot of our wild ones this session:

It looks fun, huh??

I told you, some of these teachers are enormously big and muscled! 🙂 Which makes me laugh every time E’s instructing her football player sized teachers to skip or play follow the leader and they sweetly comply. (This session she had mostly women and she doesn’t have a preference – she seems happy with anyone that lets her make the rules. We’re working on that!)

E’s solo class, she likes to make them do yoga with her:

Some of our kids are handfuls enough to warrant three or four teachers to themselves. 🙂 If we’re not there, that’s sometimes 8 or more teachers without a kid, so we try to not miss!

We have LOVED the PE program and J is excited to start this summer or fall, depending on teacher to kid ratio. Sometimes there are teachers without a class and they’ve asked if they could have him to play with but mostly he stays with us (and gets almost uninterrupted iPad time, a much coveted treat around here.) But PE has been fun for all of us. If you’re in the area and have a 3 to 12 year old then come join us, email me for details. Special needs children, siblings, and their friends are all invited. There is a summer session this year, starting June 9th.

And if you don’t live nearby, check out your local universities! We learned about these programs all from other parents to children with special needs, so connect with the community network!