Naperville swimmers helping kids with cerebral palsy
Aidan Kerr's cerebral palsy makes his life more challenging than most 7-year-olds.
But on the days he gets to swim with Naperville Central High School students, he's floating on cloud nine.
"Look at the big smile on my kid's face," DeAnn Kerr said while watching Aidan enjoy the water in the arms of a Central teen. "He thinks this is the best thing in the entire world."
As part of a new pilot program, Beebe Elementary students join Central students in the pool several times a week for unstructured fun that teachers say brings both emotional and physical benefits.
The Beebe students, mostly first-graders, have a mix of physical impairments and cognitive delays.
Swimming helps both their muscles and senses, say adapted physical education teacher Aaron Maschman and Beebe multi-needs teacher Rose Marie Santelli.
"You can do a lot of academics but thinking outside the box ... is going to help them," Santelli said. "We felt that swimming would give them that little advantage and we could tell when they come back in the classroom in the afternoon their walking has improved."
Paula Miller already has noticed a difference in her 6-year-old daughter, Annie, who is developmentally delayed and just started walking in recent weeks.
Annie spends much of her time in the pool with Central junior Colin Rook, who even learned a "Barney" song to sing to her to make her giggle while she splashes around in the water.
"Sometimes teenagers get a bad rap but when you see these exceptional kids willing to go out and make an effort for these special needs kids it's awesome," Paula Miller said.
The Central teens are part of the school's adapted physical education program - a mix of students with special needs and students who do not have a disability and serve as peer helpers. Working with youngsters gives all of them a chance to be leaders, said Pat Adamatis, Central adapted physical education teacher.
"We're trying to get self-directed learners and what a great opportunity to be a role model to a young special needs child," Adamatis said.
Seniors Anthony Lopez and Drew Crawford, who are part of the J. Kyle Braid leadership program, both said they enjoy getting to interact with the Beebe children.
"It's great to see a bunch of people helping them out and there's a lot of leaders willing to play with them and make them smile," Lopez said.
Adamatis hopes the lessons of acceptance students learn in her adapted PE class carry over to the rest of the school and provide a welcoming atmosphere for future generations.
"(Parents) were shocked at how watching our classes, everyone is treated equally and respectfully," Adamatis said. "How cool is that to know that the future for your child is really good here?"