Philly offers sensory-friendly swim hours at public pools for people with autism and neurodivergence
Eight pools across the city have designated timeframes that are quieter and less crowded.
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In July, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation announced that it was offering sensory-friendly hours at eight public pools. These open-swim hours are reserved for those with autism and neurodivergence and their families to enjoy the pools in a less-crowded environment.
“If you’ve ever been to a Philadelphia pool, you know that the pool can get very busy and sometimes crowded,” said Gwendolyn Vilade, director of inclusion at Philadelphia Parks and Recreation.
“We want to make sure that people with disabilities are always feeling welcome in our parks and our pools and our facilities.”
People with autism and other neurodivergence can be sensitive to excess stimuli, like loud noises. Parks and Recreation began offering sensory-friendly swim hours last summer, after receiving requests from community members and finding that their other sensory-friendly event, ice skating at Scanlon Recreation Center & Ice Rink, was popular.
Vilade said that one woman told her that she brought her autistic son to Kendrick Pool’s sensory-friendly hour every week last summer in Roxborough. Both the woman and her son loved the experience, and it also helped the woman connect with more parents with children on the autism spectrum.
“We’ve had some great feedback,” Vilade said. The success of the program has pushed the city to add two additional sensory-friendly pools this summer.
The days and hours for sensory-friendly swim time vary between the pools. This information and phone numbers for each pool are available through Parks and Recreation’s blog post about sensory-friendly pools at phila.gov. Vilade recommends that you register for sensory-friendly swim hours ahead of time by reaching out to the pools directly.
The sensory-friendly hours will continue as long as the pools are open this season. If your local pool does not yet offer sensory-friendly swim hours, you can reach out to Parks and Recreation via email to request that it adds them: parksandrecreation@phila.gov.