|
|
SPECIAL NEEDS DOLPHIN PATHWAYS PROGRAM : |
Five Day Program Monday-Friday
Recreational, motivational, educational program for
children and adults with special needs.
A joy-filled, goal-oriented 5-day program swimming and
playing with dolphins.
- Five specially designed dolphin sessions. Two swims. Three docksides.
- Five specially designed classroom sessions.
Dolphin Research Center is a not-for-profit education and research facility that is
home to a colony of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions. Located on
Grassy Key, Florida, our animals live in a natural environment in the Gulf of Mexico.
Program participants enjoy a hands-on experience in this special setting. |
 |
The Special Needs Pathways Program is an individualized program designed for
children and adults
with special needs. Sessions are designed to help assist the
individual work towards personal goals established by family and DRC staff. Entering into
the dolphin’s world, educational and recreational activities are introduced to help
increase motivation and enhance the personalized experience. |
 |
Participants may learn to
feel more positively about themselves in an environment that promotes fun, play and
learning, which provides them with the opportunity to bridge that experience back into
their personal lives. Most of all, they are able to have a fun-filled time away
from the stress of medical, physical, or emotional concerns.
Dolphin Sessions
Dolphins are the catalysts which stimulate the motivational
and play levels of the participants during the two swim sessions and three dockside
sessions. Activities are based on the needs and abilities of the individual. Each
person’s session differs. |
 |
The activities range from hands-on interactions with a
dolphin from the floating dock (e.g.. painting with a dolphin, touching the dolphins for
kisses, learning signals which elicit certain behaviors from the dolphins, and playing
games with balls and rings with the dolphins) to in-water interactions with the dolphin. During the last swim session, two family members may also take part in the in-water
experience, creating a family memory that will last a lifetime. In painting with a dolphin, each participant creates a one-of-kind Dolphin
Art T-shirt during a dockside session.
One-on-one interactions with the dolphins may be just what the individual needs to reach
beyond their day-to-day routine and try new things.
Classroom Sessions
The educational and recreational classroom sessions are
tailored to each individual’s needs and abilities. Most participants will work on
various creative activities with a dolphin based theme. Individualized goals are first
introduced in the classroom. The classroom sessions support and reinforce the dolphin
sessions.
Video
A video capturing one of the dolphin
swim sessions and one of the
dockside sessions is included for the participant to take home, view and recall the
special moments experienced during the program.
- Cost of the Five-Day Program: $2100 US dollars
- Non-refundable deposit: $1050 US dollars
- Deposit required at time of scheduling
- Payment in full required two weeks before scheduled session
- Dolphin Research Center accepts MasterCard, VISA, and Discovery credit cards
Until we receive your deposit, the dates are not final. Please refrain from making
travel plans until we have confirmed dates and received your deposit.
Any participant with a seizure disorder must provide a doctor’s release stating
that the person is able to participate fully and safely in the program.
To Apply for Personalized 5-day Goal
Oriented Program >>> Click Here
(Must have Adobe Acrobat Reader Installed)
Mailing and contact information:
Dolphin Research Center
Special Needs Pathways Program
58901 Overseas Highway
Grassy Key, FL 33050-6019
Director: Joan Mehew
phone: (305) 289-1121 ext. 228
fax: (305) 743-7627
email: joan@dolphins.org
Where It Began - Dolphin Assisted Therapy (DAT)
In 1988 many of the dolphins in the Dolphin Research Center's (DRC) family
became participants in a very unique form of therapy called Dolphin Assisted Therapy
(DAT). A pilot study was conducted at Dolphin Research Center with therapist Dr.
Nathanson. The study was based on the Attention Deficit Hypothesis, which theorizes that
the main impediment for learning in children with mental disabilities is their inability
to pay attention, rather than their inability to learn. Working with their trainers, the
dolphins helped a multitude of special children and adults achieve new goals and gain a
new sense of confidence. The dolphin's format for these sessions was based on DRC's
successful public dolphin swim program, Dolphin Encounter. In the dolphin assisted therapy
sessions, the dolphins worked with the patients in structured play sessions, performing
specific behaviors which their trainers requested of them. Some examples of the behaviors
would be a dorsal tow and a foot push. The dolphin knew the behaviors very well and often
adapted them to suit the abilities of the individual patient. In one dramatic example,
Natua the dolphin adapted his dorsal tow behavior to tow a quadriplegic woman by her bent
inner elbow, since she had no grasping ability with her hands. Dolphin Research Center
continues to work with special needs individuals using these same style sessions on a
regular basis
Back to Top
|
SPECIAL NEEDS ASSISTANCE: |
Special Needs Program: Assisting guests
with special needs to participate in DRC's interactive programs
DRC's
Special Needs Program assists and enables individuals
with various physical or mental challenges, chronic,
or life threatening illnesses to participate in any
of the public interactive programs offered at DRC.
Dolphin Encounter, Dolphin
Dip,
Meet the Dolphin and DRC's other educational programs are
recreational interactions that can offer the opportunity
for individuals to experience an encounter with a
dolphin or sea lion. The Special Needs Program helps
to remove the barriers to these interactions by providing
private workshops, specialized equipment, and in-water
or on the docks assistance, if needed. |
 |
Through the years, the Special Needs Program has changed and grown
and DRC has had the privilege of accommodating very special people of all ages, from all
over the United States and around the world.
Our Goal
Our program goal is to provide individuals with special
needs and their families with moments of joy and laughter,
which can be dramatically different from their usual routine of hospitals, doctors,
treatments and challenges. Our experience has shown that including family members
and friends in the program provides a unique shared adventure for everybody.
Parents tell us the Dolphin Encounters, DolphinDip and
dockside interactions are one of the few experiences that their children with
special needs and their siblings have participated in together.
Teamwork
Many of the interactions are paid for by the individual, their family,
or friends.
|
 |
On occasion, the participants may be sponsored by "wish granting"
organizations such as Make-A-Wish Foundation, Sunshine Foundation, Starlight Foundation,
Children’s Wish Foundation, The Dream Foundation, Dream Come True, Dream Factory,
Easter Seal Society, Children’s Hope and Dream Foundation, or any of the various
foundations worldwide. A "wish" to swim or interact with dolphins offers a
welcome respite from the stress of dealing with a serious illness as well as providing
motivation to reach beyond current capabilities.
Although the sessions are under a trainer's guidance, we
have often seen our dolphins innately change their style
or actions when interacting with people in the Special
Needs Program. Dolphins seem to be able to differentiate
a person's needs and treat them accordingly. There are
many stories which illustrate the dolphins' ability to
use their echolocation to pick up physical differences
such as a metal plate or a healed bone. Here are a few
examples that describe what it is like to work with the
special dolphins and special people who come together at
DRC (some names have been changed).
Reservations for Guests with Special Needs
Dolphin Research Center welcomes
guests with special needs. We assist and enable individuals
to participate in the interactive programs by removing
the barriers with specialized equipment and in-water
or on-the- dock assistance, if needed. For the guest’s
safety and comfort, we must be advised if there are any
physical or mental conditions that could affect a guest's
participation so we may plan accordingly to meet those
needs. For more information and to make a reservation
contact us at julieb@dolphins.org.
If email is unavailable, please call (305) 289-1121 Ext.
232. Our Special Needs Coordinator, Julie Bradford will
be happy to assist you Monday through Friday from 9:00
AM to 4:00 PM EST.
Special Moments
Lisa came to DRC to lift her spirits. She was slowly
recovering from an accident that left her visually impaired from brain injuries. She was
going through some dramatic changes in her life, and as a result, Lisa had almost
forgotten how to laugh. |
 |
The family, and everyone else present, will never forget the way
Lisa’s face lit up with a joy-filled smile when Santini offered her dorsal fin for a
ride around the lagoon. Lisa had not smiled in months. Santini’s playful yet gentle
personality allowed Lisa to enjoy life again.
The story of Joe, a little boy with Cerebral Palsy, illustrates how
children with special needs may go beyond their capabilities when in the water with the
dolphins. Interacting with this big, powerful and playful mammal may be just enough to
boost a child's ego to use a weaker limb. Joe came to DRC to fulfill his dream of swimming
with dolphins. When AJ the dolphin showed up at the surface on his affected side, Joe
surprised his mom and friends by grasping AJ’s dorsal fin with his weaker hand for a
swim around the lagoon.
Angela was battling a life threatening disease. Her childhood
schoolmates, now living in different parts of the country, planned a reunion, surprising
her with something she had always dreamt about: swimming with a dolphin. Angela and her
friends gathered at DRC to swim with Santini ("Tina"). Angela was thrilled. The
mood at the lagoon was filled with friendship, love and laughter. Angela and Tina brought
tears to our eyes when Tina offered a tender dolphin kiss to Angela. Angela had just
widened her circle of friends with another exceptional being.
John is visually impaired and only able to see shadows moving within 3
feet of him. During his swim with Merina, he was able to do all of the interactions
unassisted, with verbal cues being given by Kathryn (Special Needs Coordinator) from the
floating dock. When it was time for the swimmers to give Merina a backrub, she stayed
right in front of John, slowly offering different parts of her body for him to
"see" with his hands. No one had asked Merina to do this. As his hands gently
glided over her body, he closed his eyes and smiled. Afterwards, John said he now knew
what a dolphin really looked like. It was a heartwarming moment for the staff and the
other swimmers at the dock.
It was a joy to watch Daniel come in contact with dolphins for the
first time. When he saw the dolphin's gray face pop up, his eyes widened and his mouth
dropped open. He slowly approached the lagoon with his hand held over his mouth, not
believing what he was witnessing. His day had finally arrived; he was about to swim with a
dolphin. Daniel, his parents, and his best friend were taking a vacation together to get
away from all the hospital treatments. The Dream Factory sponsored the family. To make
this vacation very special for him, the highlight was to come meet and swim with the
dolphins at DRC, and see the ocean for the first time. Daniel smiled the entire time he
was in the water with AJ. One of the best moments of his swim was when Talon, another
dolphin, met with AJ and Daniel for a double dorsal pull. On this particular day, Daniel's
presence brought us back to the essence of our work with the dolphins and the beautiful
environment in which they live.
We have been blessed
to see hundreds of moments like these. We never cease to
be amazed and touched by the joy the dolphins can bring
to our guests whether in a Dolphin Encounter, DolphinDip,
or other interaction.
Specific questions about the Special Needs Program?
Contact The Special Needs
Coordinator: drc-snp@dolphins.org or 305-289-1121
ext. 232
To learn more about the interactive programs available
at DRC, costs, and how to make a reservation:
click here
drc-dcp@dolphins.org -Dolphin
Child Program at DRC
drc-snp@dolphins.org -Special
Needs Recreational Program at DRC
Back to Top |
