A new fitness program at the College of Charleston is changing lives. Not just the lives of the participants – children with disabilities – but also the lives of the college students implementing the program.
The FitCatz program launched in spring 2014.
“My buddy has taught me a great deal about myself and the type of person I wish to become in the future,” explains Victoria Simpson, exercise science major.
“This showed me that special education is where I am meant to be and it’s something that I love pursuing,” says Mariel Saldutte, the peer facilitator for the program.
These comments aren’t surprising to Teacher Education Instructor Susan Flynn, who organized the FitCatz program. It’s what she heard at two other universities where she implemented similar programs.
THE PROGRAM
FitCatz is an aquatic and motor program for children with disabilities, designed to help them become efficient movers in a fun and safe environment. The pilot program launched in spring 2014 with four classes at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Wellness Center. Each class is two hours, with one hour spent in the gym working on motor patterns and sport skills, and one hour spent in the pool working on water safety, swimming skills, fitness, and functional mobility for children with physical disabilities.
[Related: Learn more about FitCatz.]
It was so well received that 19 children are participating in the pilot program – four more than originally planned. Each child is paired with a clinician – a College of Charleston student enrolled in Flynn’s First Year Experience (FYE) seminar, Special OPS (occupational physical services). An additional 10 students, four aquatic specialists, and MUSC physical therapist Cindy Dodds also volunteer.
“What makes FitCatz different from other programs is that each child is one-to-one with a college student. They’re buddies for the duration of the program,” Flynn explains. “For the college students, it is kind of like an introduction to special education class with a twist of adapted P.E.”
THE CLINICIANS
Spring 2014 FitCatz participants and clinicians.
Every first year student at the College of Charleston is required to take a FYE course. Some students chose Special OPS because they’re interested in physical or occupational therapy, and for others it just sounded interesting.
[Related: See more FYE courses.]
“Being the peer facilitator, I get to see how each of the college students grows with each week’s experience,” Saldutte says. “Many of them came in never having worked with children before, let alone children with special needs that would require them to change the way they work to better enhance each child’s experience. The students frequently let me know how surprised they are with how much they love this experience.”
[Related: Find out more about peer facilitators.]
Flynn acknowledges the challenge for the college students. They are one-on-one with a special needs child for two hours. That means sweating in the gym, helping the child change into a bathing suit, and being in the pool with the child.
“It takes a strong freshman to work with a child who doesn’t respond verbally or who has to be lifted in and out of a chair.”
[Related: Become a special education major.]
The first year students are tasked with creating lesson plans for each class, working with the physical therapists and their group leader on goals and objectives for the children, and conducting motor screenings. They’re learning developmentally appropriate activities, how to redirect students who aren’t on task, and strategies to engage a child.
THE REWARD
“I definitely grew attached to my buddy,” Simpson says. “Every session I pushed her to make sure she was improving, but we also had a ton of fun. I was able to apply things I learned in class in my lesson plans for my child. This class has definitely taught me that I want to pursue a career in physical therapy.”
Flynn already has plans to continue the program in fall 2014 and spring 2015. Similar programs that she started at the University of Toldeo and Purdue University are still going strong and Flynn uses the lessons she learned to perfect FitCatz. Her students are almost as passionate as she is.
[Related: Follow Flynn on Twitter.]
“I am so excited to see where this will go and how it can grow as we continue on,” Saldutte says.
For more information, contact Susan Flynn at flynns@cofc.edu.
