Infants learn life-saving swimming techniques

MILFORD, Conn. (AP) _ At 8 months old, Lexi Schneider isn't able to walk yet, but if she were to fall into a pool, she could keep from swallowing water and turn herself around to float on her back, hopefully until she was rescued.

Lexi isn't a future Olympian in training, but she is a student in Dena Blum-Rothman's Infant Swimming Resource class, learning survival, rather than swimming.

``It's amazing,'' said Lexi's mom, Elisabeth Schneider of Fairfield. ``In three days she was floating on her back and with seven days she was rolling over.''

ISR is a self-rescue method taught to children ages 6 months to 6 years old. Babies 6 to 12 months old learn the float method that Lexi demonstrated with a smile recently during her session at the Woodruff Family YMCA in Milford.

Children older than 1 learn the ``swim, float, swim method,'' learn how to hold their breath under water, swim with their head down, roll onto their back to float, rest, breathe and roll back over to continue swimming until they reach the side of the pool. And there's no floaties allowed.

Blum-Rothman, who underwent a five-week training and certification program, said the method has nothing to do with spoken instruction; it's all about sensory motor methods through touch and positive reinforcement.

``Initially, it's all about the touch,'' she said.

Children in the self-rescue classes are taught five consecutive days a week at 10 minute intervals.

Blum-Rothman decided to become ISR trained because it was a rare service in this area and she wanted to teach her son, Ethan, whom she was pregnant with at the time and who is now 14 months old. Blum-Rothman and her husband, Phil, live in Orange. They have a pool and two older children, Sydney, 10 and Matthew, 8.

Blum-Rothman, a Cornell University-educated mother of three, was previously a vice president of a large hotel consulting company.

``I left a very lucrative career to save lives,'' she said. ``I always say, I'm not going to get rich, but I can look myself in the mirror. This is truly my passion.''

The ISR method was developed by a former lifeguard who in 1966 witnessed the tragic aftermath of a neighborhood child drowning. Harvey Barnett vowed to do whatever he could to keep another child from drowning. The ISR method developed while he gave swimming lessons to young children.

Steve and Jennifer Simonte of Westport are delighted with the progress of their twins, Zoe and Eva, 3, who each have their own style in the water, but have mastered the method so far. The family lives in an area with lots of beaches, water and boats.

``A month and a half ago they were terrified of the water,'' Steve Simonte said of his daughters. ``I think it's an amazing program. It's even more amazing when you see a 6-month-old or a 9-month-old.''

Elisabeth Schneider said she signed Lexi up for the course after someone they hired said the biggest red flag at their house was a pond in the backyard and a neighbor with a pool and broken fence.

Blum-Rothman said drowning is the leading cause of death in children younger than 4.

According to according to ISR literature, every day in the United States at least five children reach the water unsupervised and end up in a potential drowning situation; 63 percent of children who drown are under age 4; a child will lose consciousness about two minutes after submersion and irreversible brain damage occurs within 4-6 minutes.

Blum-Rothman said there are 788 documented cases of children who used the ISR skill to save their lives.

The young students start lessons in their swim diaper and/or a bathing suits. During the last week of lessons, they practice their new skills while wearing clothes, since 87 percent of drowning victims are found fully dressed, Blum-Rothman said.

``We want to know if they fall in that they can accommodate all that weight,'' she said. ``This is survival.''

As Blum-Rothman's own child Ethan darts to the side of the pool, sending his dad, Phil Rothman, chasing him, she cautions, ``Even though he's trained, it does not take the place of parental supervision.''

``Everyone says, I never take my eyes off my child,'' she said. ``No one does. It only takes a second.''

Jennifer Simonte said she notices that many kids don't really know how to swim in a way that would save them if they were in trouble. Her kids are often the only ones who will put their heads in the water, she said.

Blum-Rothman said most programs won't teach children to swim until age 4 or 5 and it's usually with a flotation device, which gives parents a false sense of security that their child can swim.

The price of the lessons vary, depending on the pool because Blum-Rothman has to adjust for the fee she pays the pools. In Milford the cost is $25 per lesson and it's about $40 at a pool in Fairfield County. She also works in Litchfield County and said currently there's no money to be made because she's about just covering pool costs.

``It's definitely not profitable now,'' Blum-Rothman said of the business.

Generally, children ages 6 months to 1 year need about 20 lessons to learn the survival float. Between ages 1 and 3 they need about 30 lessons to learn ``swim, float, swim,'' and at about 3 and older it's back to about 20 lessons.

Jennifer Simonte said that since private lessons would cost about $750 for each child to teach them basic swimming, the ISR method is comparatively a bargain as well as being more effective.

Zoe and Eva's grandmother, Bernee Strom, who was in from Seattle recently to watch her granddaughters' lessons, is impressed.

``It's so smart,'' she said. ``They're like mermaids. It even makes it easier to wash their hair (because they'll go under in the bathtub).''

Although the lessons are done individually, twins or other multiples are put in the water together at some times to train them not to grab each other in the water in case of emergency, which is often the tendency.

For Lexi, who repeatedly and happily demonstrated she's a pro at not swallowing water and turning herself over to float, the ISR training has meant other perks.

``She was never a good eater, but she started eating better and sleeping better,'' Elisabeth Schneider said.

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