27/10/2026
🌍 **WORLD OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY DAY 2026**
**PARTICIPATION MATTERS — IN WATER AND BEYOND** 🌊
What does participation look like in a Halliwick session?
It might be a swimmer choosing which game to play, reaching for a floating object, finding a way to turn towards a friend, or discovering that they can move away from their instructor and return when they wish.
Small moments, perhaps, but there's often a great deal happening.
The swimmer is learning about their body, responding to the movement of water, making decisions, solving problems and interacting with others.
And for an occupational therapist, there's plenty to work with.
The Halliwick Concept offers opportunities that go well beyond learning to swim. Through games, movement and interaction, we can explore abilities that are also important in everyday life.
Take a simple game of collecting floating objects. The swimmer may need to maintain balance, reach across the body, organise their movements, make a choice or cooperate with another swimmer.
The instructor can change the activity, adjust the support or introduce a new challenge according to the swimmer's needs and responses.
We shouldn't overlook the sensory experience either. Water is constantly giving us information. Its pressure, resistance, buoyancy and movement allow us to experience our bodies and surroundings differently.
Some swimmers enjoy these sensations immediately. Others need time, familiarity and a little encouragement. Recognising those differences is part of good Halliwick teaching.
This is where the experience of a Halliwick instructor and the clinical reasoning of an occupational therapist can complement each other so well.
**Perhaps the question isn't simply, "Can the swimmer do it?" but also, "What does this activity mean for this person?"**
The ICF encourages us to look beyond body functions and consider activities and participation. Halliwick gives us many opportunities to observe these aspects in practice.
Of course, learning something in the pool doesn't mean it will automatically carry over into everyday life. But the experiences we offer can contribute towards wider goals, whether in self-care, play, social inte
