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Children with hearing loss learn water safety in New Port Richey

Klint Lowry/SUNCOAST

Nicole Wise, left, translates into sign language while Linda Cassidy, aquatics manager at the New Port Richey Recreation and Aquatics Center, goes through a water safety checklist for guests from Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services of Port Richey.

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By KLINT LOWRY | The Suncoast News

Published: July 24, 2009

Updated: 07/27/2009 04:32 pm

You can't build a much better summer day than the one Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services of Florida provided for some of its members - a day of free family fun beating the heat poolside, along with the kind of information you can't put a price on.

The Port Richey-based nonprofit organization is devoted to offering programs and services for the hearing impaired children and adults in Pasco and Hernando counties. They offer classes, workshops and education.

And they have some fun now and then.

"We like to do something once every summer," executive director Jeff Thomas said. Usually the event is strictly recreational. But this year, they had an opportunity. Thanks to cooperation from the Katelyn Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting child safety through public awareness and education, and the New Port Richey Recreation and Aquatic Center, they were able to offer members a brief course in water safety, followed by a day of free access to the center's aquatic facilities.

"This is something that is extremely important in Florida," Thomas said, "for kids to know what to do around water."

Children with hearing loss are mainstreamed at school; they have few opportunities to hang out surrounded by other children who sign, who know they have to face them when they speak, DHHSF client services specialist Jenny Hess said. Those of us who don't live with hearing issues don't always think about how it can come into play when it comes to learning in day-to-day situations.

"Deaf and hard of hearing kids can't use hearing aids when they're in the water, and so maybe they don't know what we think all kids know just from overhearing things," Hess said. Children pick up a good deal of information incidentally, she said, and we expect them to learn in that way. Children with hearing loss miss out on some of that. In swimming situations, they would not hear parents warning the children around them, the lessons would not be reinforced, if they are learned at all.

This deficit can carry into adulthood, so that when they have children of their own, they don't know what to teach them, Hess added.

Linda Cassidy, aquatics manager and water safety instructor for the center, presented the course. She said when she saw that it was going to be a family event, she wanted to make her presentation useful for all ages.

"It's a standard water safety class," Cassidy said. "We're going with a course the Red Cross does called WHALE Tales. It's the very basic water safety things. This is a presentation we take to schools."

Cassidy gave a brief rundown of the Red Cross' Water Safety Checklist.

She kept it brief, she said, because she knew the kids wanted to get into the water, and all she was hoping for was to get them focused before they continued the lesson poolside.

She also had a handout for parents with general water safety tips and for watching children around water.

Other than having interpreters sign her presentation, Cassidy said, she gave the standard presentation she always does.

The rules of water safety are the same for everyone, she said, and something everyone should know.

Anyone interested in Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services of Florida can call 727-853-1010 or visit www.deafhhsfla.org.

Quick and easy rules for safe swimming

To try to prevent the thousands of water-related injuries and deaths that occur each year to children under the age of 14, the Red Cross has devised a program called Water Habits Are Learned Early, or WHALE Tales, which includes a Water Safety Checklist.

Linda Cassidy, aquatics manager and water safety instructor for the New Port Richey Recreation and Aquatics Center, gave families from Deaf and Hard of Hearing of Florida a brief rundown of the list:

• Swim with a buddy in a supervised area. Accidents can happen to the most experienced swimmer, Cassidy said.

• Be cool, follow the rules. Running around a pool, roughhousing and other horseplay are by far the main causes of swimming-related injuries, she said.

• Look before you leap. This is especially true when swimming in places other than a pool, Cassidy said. Never jump into water until you know how deep it is, what's on the bottom and what kind of currents are present. Make sure you're not going to land on someone else, and always follow "no diving" warnings.

• Think so you don't sink. If the water is too cold, get out, Cassidy said. If there is a strong current, don't try to fight it.

• Reach or throw, don't go. Unless you are trained in water rescue, don't put yourself in danger to rescue someone else. A person who is panicking in the water can easily pull you down. Instead, keep safety devices handy that can be tossed or used to reach out to a person in distress.

• Don't just pack it, wear your jacket. A life jacket is of no use unless you're wearing it, and it's very difficult to get a life jacket on once you're already in the water, Cassidy said.

• Too much sun is no fun. The Red Cross recently added this one, Cassidy said. Essentially, the message is to be mindful so as not to get burned or dehydrated.

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