News

Finding confidence in the water

Wed, 15 Mar 2017 03:45:00

Good news for this group of water lovers – it looks like summer is sticking around for a while.

Every week during the hottest part of the year, a group of people with low vision meets at Mildura Waves for Vision Australia’s Learn N Do recreational program.

Vision Australia recreational support worker Janice Barnes said since she started the Walking in Water activity with the group in 2015, she had seen positive changes in the clients.

“Walking in Water has given them confidence in the water, which is something many of them didn’t have when we first started,” Ms Barnes said.

“Some of them would never have ventured into the water, as they hadn’t been in a pool for a long time.

“But we create an environment where they’re safe and comfortable, so they not only feel like they can do it – they look forward to it.”

Ms Barnes said at the other end of the spectrum, there were people who couldn’t participate in water exercise due to their age and low vision levels.

“Some of our group would go to the normal water aerobics, but they wouldn’t be able to keep up, and they can’t see what the instructor is doing,” she said.

“So they enjoy doing mild exercises with me and welcome the opportunity to socialise and have fun with the group.”