About

About Infant Swimming Resource

ISR is the most educational and effective survival swimming instruction program available.

How is ISR different?
For more than 50 years, Infant Swimming Resource (ISR) has been teaching children critical self-rescue skills -- giving children the competence and confidence to safely enjoy the water. ISR’s technique teaches babies from 6 months to 6 years of age how to save themselves if they were to end up in the water alone.

What are Self-Rescue Lessons?
Going beyond traditional swim instruction, ISR teaches children how to survive in the water. Depending on your child’s age, your child will learn different levels of self-rescue skills, including a roll-back-to-float and/or a swim-float-swim. 

Safety First
At ISR, your child’s safety is our first priority. Each lesson is uniquely tailored to your child’s needs based on comprehensive assessment and continual monitoring of your child’s health and skill attainment. Because every child learns at his or her own pace, your child will be gently guided through each skill level.

ISR has safely delivered over 15 million effective lessons teaching water self-rescue skills to infants and children and has educated parents and medical experts nationwide on water safety techniques and proven instruction methods.

Parent Education
Your child is not the only one who will learn during lessons. Infant Swimming Resource’s program includes comprehensive parent education on aquatic safety and drowning prevention. For more information on keeping your family safe in and around the water read tips on ISR’s Family Aquatic Safety List.

History
The idea behind Infant Swimming Resource was born in 1966 when its founder, Harvey Barnett, Ph.D, was just 18 years old. As an active lifeguard, Barnett witnessed the tragic aftermath when a neighbor's child drowned. At that moment, he vowed to do everything possible to ensure not one more child drowns.

Barnett began teaching young children to swim and observed how they responded to certain types of communication, instruction and different techniques — even with non-verbal infants. This was the beginning research phase for what is now Infant Swimming Resource’s comprehensive infant swimming education and self-rescue program.

ISR Non-Discrimination Policy
ISR complies with all federal and state laws and regulations and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, age, religion, or disability.  It is the policy of ISR to provide reasonable accommodations to its disabled applicants and students, with the provision of appropriate documentation of the need for the accommodation.

About Jessica

As an Arizona native, I was taught to swim at an early age. In fact, I loved swimming so much I swam competitively from the age of six all the way through college, including swimming for the Arizona Swimming Gauchos, Ironwood High School, and University of New Mexico. Summers during college I taught swimming lessons and coached swim team for the City of Glendale and local YMCA.

After my family moved to a new home with a pool I thought very seriously about swimming lessons for my girls, Emma and Ava. I didn't know what ISR was - I had never even heard of it, but it was highly recommended to me. I decided to enroll my daughter, Emma, in the program. The cost and 6-week time commitment didn't matter because I knew learning these survival swimming skills would be priceless! Emma began the program when she was 2.5 years old. I didn't know what to expect. The first day she cried. It was hard to watch, but deep down I knew that this was the best thing I could do for her. By the third day Emma didn't cry at all. Before I knew it she was excited to go to swimming lessons to see Ms. Jenee and practice her swimming skills! It was amazing to watch her progress and transform into the little fishy she is today. I was more than impressed with the ISR program.

I'm so thankful that I chose ISR for Emma. I believe in the program so strongly that I decided to become an Instructor myself! The children I teach motivate me to be the best Instructor I can be.  The confidence and pride instilled in these children as they learn the skills is amazing to watch. The appreciation and joy exhibited by their parents is equally incredible.  I am so happy to be able to make a difference in these families’ lives.  I hope to get the opportunity to make a difference in your child’s life.

I am an Arizona State University Graduate and certified in CPR and First Aid.  As an ISR Instructor l maintain continuous education for annual re-certifications.

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ISR lessons

What Will Your Child Learn?

About Lessons

What your child will learn, and the way he or she will learn it, is what makes ISR’s self‐rescue survival swimming program so different from traditional swimming lessons. Always putting safety first, ISR emphasizes competence, which leads to confidence, and provides the foundation for a lifetime of enjoyment in and around the water.

ISR lessons are designed for any child over 6 months of age. This is not a traditional swim class where they will be playing in the pool with other kids like a "Mommy and Me" or "Water Babies" class; this is a behaviorally based swim program that teaches survival swimming and self-rescue skills. This is a course designed to teach your child and their body how to respond and rescue themselves in a potential aquatic emergency situation. Parents do not get into the pool until the last week of lessons. (Read this comparison between ISR and traditional swim lessons.)

ISR is approximately a 6 week course, scheduled 5 days per week, Monday through Friday, for no more than 10 minutes each day. Children may begin lessons at 6-months of age as long as they are able to sit independently. Lessons are always taught at your child’s emotional and physical pace with safety as the top priority. Once students are completely skilled, they will practice their skills fully clothed. What your child will learn depends on his or her age and developmental readiness, but in all cases, at minimum, your child will learn to roll onto his or her back to float, rest, and breathe, and to maintain this position until help arrives.

Students are scheduled according to the individual needs of the parent and student and contingent upon time slots becoming available as other students finish their course. Early registration is highly recommended to better accommodate the time and dates you desire. (Read this overview for more information.)

ISR is an extraordinary program and we are constantly striving to expand in order to eradicate the child drowning epidemic facing our children.

6-12 MONTHS OLD (ROLL-BACK-TO-FLOAT)

Your child is gently introduced to the water by the Instructor. As each child reacts differently, the Instructor will work with your child to guide him through the lesson process and to build a level of trust and comfort in the water. Once this is established, your child will begin to learn how to self-rescue.

Think of how your child learned to roll from stomach to back as a young baby. A child 6-12 months will learn:

• To hold their breath underwater

• To roll onto their back

• To float unassisted, rest and breathe until help arrives

• To perform these self-rescue skills first in a swim diaper, then while fully clothed

This video is representative of what your 6-12 month old child will be doing after approximately 6 weeks of instruction.

1-6 YEARS OLD (SWIM-FLOAT-SWIM)

You've seen it before, your toddler walks right to the edge of the pool, ready to jump in, whether or not you are there to catch him. His confidence is beyond his skills. ISR training for children between 1 and 6 years of age uses their confidence to help them build competence and the skills to self-rescue. Please note that not all 12-15 month-olds are developmentally ready to learn to swim-float-swim.

Your ISR Instructor will work with your child's initial skills to help him gain both competence and confidence around the water. ISR has a deep passion for water safety and will not make your child over-confident or fearless, but will educate your child and teach them a healthy respect for the water.

Children 1 -6 years learn the following sequence:

• To hold their breath underwater

• Swim with their head down

• Roll onto their back to float, rest, and breathe

• Roll back over to resume swimming until they reach the side of the pool, crawl out or be rescued by an adult

• To perform these self-rescue skills first in a swim diaper, then while fully clothed

With these skills your child will be able to swim independently and learn to move at his or her own pace toward the safety of the side of the pool.

Refresher Lessons

Refresher lessons are extremely important in continuing and maintaining your child’s self-rescue skill development. Children grow and develop rapidly from infants to toddlers and into young children. This development process represents improved strength, coordination, and a more finely tuned cognitive ability. In accordance with this growth, children enrolled in ISR return periodically to participate in Refresher Lessons. Refresher lessons are designed to fine-tune your child’s existing ISR self-rescue skills to meet the demands of their growing bodies. It will allow them to make adjustments in their float and strengthen their swim. It’s not unusual for children to not swim and float at the same skill level that they did at their last session’s lessons. This does not mean that they have forgotten to swim or float, only that they need to practice their skills in their new, larger, stronger body. The length of the refresher lessons will vary greatly based on the child’s water experience and any interference that may have occurred since the last time they took lessons.

Note:

Previous Swim-Float-Swim students will take approximately 1-3 weeks to refresh.

Previous Rollback-to-Float students will take an average of 6 weeks to learn the Swim-Float-Swim sequence.

Maintenance Lessons

Maintenance lessons are also available during certain times of the year for regular fine-tuning of your child’s self-rescue skills. These lessons are highly recommended before going on a beach vacation or a trip to the lake to make sure your child is confident in the water.

Tuition

There is a financial commitment involved with ensuring your child’s opportunity to receive this specialized aquatic survival instruction. Lesson tuition is due on the Monday of each swim week. Tuition is only charged until the child is fully skilled. There is no contract or obligation to complete the full 6 weeks if the child becomes skilled before then. However, there is a possibility that it may take longer than 6 weeks. The weekly tuition is due regardless of the number of lessons you attend that week. Even though tuition is paid on a weekly basis, you are committing to the course until your child masters his or her survival skills.

SCHEDULE

Each child will learn at a different pace therefore, the number of weeks to become completely skilled is just an estimate.

Time slots are filled on a first come, first served basis. Time slots are not considered secured until I receive payment of your non-refundable deposit (which serves as tuition for Week 1).

Please consider other obligations and events such as vacations when scheduling the desired dates and times of your child's swim lessons. Consistency is imperative to your child's success in the water.

If my scheduled times do not work for you or your child, I encourage you to log on to www.infantswim.com and enter your zip code into the Instructor locator. ISR has many Instructors throughout Arizona and there may be another Instructor close by that can better meet your needs.

Arizona Infant Swim offers year round swim lessons. Availability based on season. Swim lessons are up to 10 minutes each day, but are booked in 12 minute time blocks.

To get scheduled, please email me with the following information: 

• Which start date you prefer

• Which time slot(s) you would like

• Your child(ren)’s names and ages

In order to secure your time slot(s) you must pay a deposit per child ($125 for the first, and $100 for each additional). This deposit serves as the first week's tuition. Your time slot is not secured until your deposit is paid.

2024 Lesson availability

start date: november 4

Get started

Registration

If you have decided that you are ready to sign your child up for ISR lessons with me, I am happy to teach your child ISR's self-rescue skills once the following steps have been completed.

1. Contact Me:

   Email me at j.higley@infantswim.com with your desired start date and time. (Please provide at least a 30-minute block that will work for you. I will do my best to schedule you as close as possible to your desired start date and time.) Please include your name, phone number, and the names and ages of your children.

2. Schedule Confirmation / deposit payment:

   I will send a confirmation email that includes your child(ren)’s start date and time slot(s). In order to secure the time slot(s), I require a NON-REFUNDABLE deposit in the amount of $125 for the first child and $100 for each additional child. This deposit will be applied as your child’s first tuition payment. If the deposit is not paid within 24 hours your time slot will be forfeited.

3. ISR Registration:

   Prior to your scheduled start date I will send you my individual URL code for online registration. Please complete the online registration as soon as possible in case there is additional information required by ISR.

   Registration must be completed and paid for online. This process includes paying the $105 (or $40 for returning students) NON-REFUNDABLE registration fee to ISR. This fee covers the cost of a screening procedure to assess the physical and developmental readiness of your child. There are no discounts or exceptions for registration fees. Each year your child returns to ISR you will need to update their registration.

   All students must be cleared through the national ISR office prior to starting lessons. You will be required to provide information specific to your child’s medical and developmental history to ensure adequate adjustments can be made to the lessons if necessary to ensure your child’s safety. All registrations are kept strictly confidential.

4. ISR Approval:

   Once ISR approves your child’s registration you will receive an email from ISR which includes a link to the ISR Parent Resource eBook, a comprehensive guide to safety measures involved with having your children in and around water. ISR may require additional information from parents and/or doctors prior to issuing approval. Please be sure to communicate with ISR promptly if information is requested.

5. ISR Lessons:

   After ISR issues approval, I will send an email with all the details you need to know regarding lessons, including: reconfirmation of start date and time slot, address for lessons, what to bring, what to wear, what to expect, payment policies, and how to pay for lessons, etc.

pARENT RESOURCES

Below are additional resources parents may find useful:

• ISR Family Aquatic Safety List

• Daily BUDS Sheet

• Lesson Overview

• Guidelines & Policies

• ISR Lesson Quick Sheet

• ISR vs. Traditional Lessons Comparison

• ISR Splash Zone Blog

Contact

Have a Question?

Thank you for your interest in ISR self-rescue lessons for your family!  If you have any questions or would like further information about ISR lessons, please complete the form below and I will be in touch with you as soon as possible.