HOT TOPIC: Advancing Aquatic Occupational Therapy as a Practice Area

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2026

2:45 PM – 3:15 PM

Course Description

Drowning is a leading cause of death for children ages 1-4 and remains a leading cause for children on the autism spectrum up through age 14 (Guan & Li, 2017).  Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are 160 times more likely to drown in comparison to their neurotypical peers. While participation in swim lessons has shown to reduce the risk of drowning in a typical population (Brenner, et al, 2009), parents report that their children with varying disabilities do not learn to swim in traditional community lessons (Mische Lawson, et al, 2019).  Occupational therapy practitioners are uniquely positioned to step into the gap of providing skilled, individualized intervention in the area of water competency for drowning prevention.

This session will introduce the emerging area of aquatic therapy to occupational therapy professionals including the novel concept of a swim care continuum, emphasizing the role of occupational therapy across levels of water safety and skill development. Aquatic occupational therapy has been shown to improve water competency skills in children on the autism spectrum (Kemp et al, 2023; Kemp et al 2026; Alaniz et al, 2017) as well as social participation (Alaniz et al, 2017) and sensory processing skills (Pataki, 2026). Occupational therapy practitioners are well positioned to contribute to the swim care continuum, working with existing aquatic professionals to enhance outcomes.

Speakers

Content Level

Introductory: This level assumes the audience has little or no information regarding the content area.

Practice Areas

Children and Youth; Emerging Practice Area