Two-year-old Sophia Gilley receives CHS First Steps, Early Head Start, and Aquatic Therapy services. She has several medical diagnoses including Dandy Walker Syndrome, Polymicrogyria, Corpus Collosum Agenesis and seizure disorder as well as an underdeveloped nerve at the back of her eye. This has slowed her development and has limited muscle strength throughout her whole body.

Sophia was referred for aquatic services to help her spasms and to loosen her stiff muscles caused from her diagnoses. While she is in the water, she is working on building muscle strength, reducing stress, and allowing her body to relax. Her mother, Laurie, reports that Sophie enjoys the aquatics program and it has helped her significantly.

The CHS Aquatics Program has been serving individuals since 1988. Located at the Garlich Activity Center, this program benefits individuals of all ages and provides different types of water fitness. In addition to individual therapeutic sessions, the open community classes include, private swim lessons, water walking and water aerobics.

The Aquatics Program has many benefits to overall health such as cardiovascular fitness, increased muscle strength and endurance, flexibility and when done regularly it can help reduce body fat. Aerobic workouts in the pool are perfect for those who find some movements on land to be jarring or painful. The water reduces the weight of a person by ninety percent, which means stress on joints, bones and muscles is reduced.

Aquatics can help many types of conditions from a sprained ankle to more severe conditions like heart attack or stroke patients. Many individuals have benefited from this program in different ways

The pool is a fun place to get a great workout. A class can leave you feeling surprisingly calm, yet energetic and benefits your overall health at any age. If you would like more information about the Center for Human Services, Aquatics Program call 660.826.4401 ext. 213.