Your child’s swim instructor has thirty minutes, a class of other children, wet hands and no chart. Everything they need fits on one sheet: what your child has, what it looks like when something goes wrong, where the medication is right now, and who to call. Fill this in, hand a copy over before the first lesson, and keep a second copy in the swim bag.
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Fill in the right-hand column in your own words. If your child has more than one condition, use a second copy of this sheet rather than crowding one
| What the instructor needs | Why it matters in the water | Your child |
|---|---|---|
| The condition, in one sentence | Plain language beats a diagnosis name. An instructor who has never met this condition still needs to act correctly on the first day | ______ |
| What a normal lesson looks like for this child | Staff cannot spot a change without a baseline. Tell them what tired, pink-cheeked and fine looks like for your child | ______ |
| The first sign something is wrong — specific to your child | Water hides the early signals. Coughing that will not settle, sudden clumsiness, going quiet, or a warning your child recognises themselves | ______ |
| What you want done first | Nearly always: get them out of the water, then treat. Write the order you want, not just the treatment | ______ |
| Where the medication or supplies are, right now | On the deck within arm’s reach — not in the car, not at home, not locked behind the front desk | ______ |
| Who to call, and when to call 911 | Name the point at which you want emergency services called without waiting for you to answer the phone | ______ |
General education only. Your child’s doctor sets the actual plan — use this to know what to ask them, and what to pass on
| Condition | Tell the instructor | On deck, within reach | Watch for | Ask your doctor about |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asthma | Severity, triggers, and that the pool trigger is usually chloramine gas in a poorly ventilated indoor pool rather than chlorine itself | Rescue inhaler with spacer, plus a copy of the written asthma action plan | Coughing that will not settle, wheeze, chest tightness, unusual breathlessness after a set | Clearance to swim, and whether a dose 15–30 minutes before activity is right for your child |
| Type 1 diabetes | That exercise lowers blood sugar for hours, and that water hides the early signs of a low — so this child never swims alone | Fast-acting carbs (glucose tabs or juice), meter or CGM, hypo kit, glucagon if prescribed, medical ID worn | Shakiness, sweating, confusion, weakness, or your child saying they feel “off” — out of the water and treat, then recheck | Targets before swimming, how often to check during, the insulin pump plan in water, and delayed lows later that day |
| Epilepsy or seizures | The seizure type, what one looks like, and that this child needs a designated adult within arm’s reach whose only job is them | Seizure first aid steps in writing; emergency medication if prescribed | Your child’s own warning sign or aura. In water: support the head, keep the face clear, move to the edge, get out, call for help | Your neurologist’s guidance, whether lessons should be one-on-one, and bathtub rules at home |
| Ear tubes or recent ear surgery | That updated AAO–HNS guidance means most children with standard tubes can swim at the surface in a chlorinated pool without ear plugs — and what your ENT said for your child | Only what the ENT specified. Custom-molded plugs if they were prescribed | Ear drainage, ear pain, or muffled hearing after swimming | Diving and deep submersion, dunking games, lakes and ocean, and whether plugs are needed at all |
| Cast, splint or walking boot | Which kind it is. A standard plaster or fiberglass cast must stay completely dry; only a waterproof-liner cast is designed to get wet, and only with the orthopedist’s approval | The cast care instructions. A waterproof cover is for showering — it is not a green light to swim | Wet or smelling padding, itching and rash underneath, a cast that has softened or lost its shape | Water clearance, and whether deck-side participation makes sense until the cast comes off |
| Eczema | The routine, and that the instructor does not need to comment on the skin. Barrier moisturizer 15–30 minutes before; rinse and re-moisturize within about five minutes after | Fragrance-free moisturizer or ointment, a towel, and a rash guard if your child wears one | Stinging or a new flare after a specific pool — useful information about that facility’s water | Which product to use before and after, and whether one pool suits your child better than another |
| ADHD or high impulsivity | That the water risk is impulsivity — entering before the instructor is ready, leaving the wall, dashing toward the pool on arrival | Nothing medical, unless medication is timed around the lesson. Ask about that timing | Getting in ahead of the instruction, or losing the thread of a multi-step direction | Whether medication timing affects the lesson, and whether a smaller class or private lesson is worth it |
| Autism or sensory differences | The specific sensory triggers — echo, whistles, cold water, the smell — how your child shows distress, and any wandering risk | Whatever your child uses to regulate: ear defenders on deck, a familiar towel, a visual schedule | Shutdown or overwhelm rather than obvious protest, and any move toward the water outside lesson time | Adaptive or one-on-one programs, and the home water-safety layers that go with a wandering risk |
Fill this in at the pool, on the first day, with the instructor standing next to you
| Item | Where it is kept during class | Expiry date | Who may give it |
|---|---|---|---|
| ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ |
Keep reading — the detail behind every row on this form.
A written sheet removes the reason a program hesitates and the reason a family quietly stops going. Participation in formal swim lessons is associated with a large reduction in drowning risk for young children, and drowning remains a leading cause of death for children ages 1–4.
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