Blended Aquatics

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Blended Aquatics At Blended Aquatics®, we use ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) principles targeting water safety and drowning prevention.

Blended Aquatics exists to fill a gap in water safety education — building practical frameworks for behavior analysts, caregivers, and aquatic professionals who support neurodivergent learners.

09/24/2026

✨️Behavior analysts belong in water safety! But their role looks different from a swim instructor.  

🌊Water safety isn’t just a location- it’s not just the pool, or the lake. And it doesn't just happen during swimming lessons. Water safety is location + behavior + context. That means learning to recognize hazards, predict behavior near water, and build safety into everyday routines.

Most behavior analysts aren't swim instructors and most swim instructors aren't behavior analysts. And let me tell you, as a BCBA and swim instructor, we need both skill sets to support water safety💙

I've had swim instructors ask for help managing behavior during swimming lessons or were given a behavior plan from a parent but didn't know what it meant.
And havehad countless conversations with BCBAs feeling trapped between scope of practice, competency and not knowing where to start. We can work together and still remain in our own Behavior analysts belong in water safety! But their role looks different from a swim instructor.

Water safety isn’t just a location- it’s not just the pool, or the lake. And it doesn't just happen during swimming lessons. Water safety is location + behavior + context. That means learning to recognize hazards, predict behavior near water, and build safety into everyday routines.

Most behavior analysts aren't swim instructors and most swim instructors aren't behavior analysts. And let me tell you, as a BCBA and swim instructor, we need both skill sets to support water safety!

I've had swim instructors ask for help managing behavior during swimming lessons or were given a behavior plan from a parent but didn't know cope of practice!

Behavior analysts can support with behavior and safety skills and swim instructors can teach swim skills.

I help behavior analysts stop feeling stuck and start feeling competent addressing water safety from home to the community!

Disclaimer: For educational purposes only. Not medical or treatment advice. Behavior analytic interventions are individualized and should be guided by a qualified professional. Always provide active supervision around water. Blended Aquatics is not liable for any inj

09/18/2026

🌧 Have you noticed changes in client behavior after rainfall?

🏃‍♂️This could look like running or bolting to specific objects they wouldn't usually show interest in. Like wet railings, polls, car hoods, benches. Any surface that now glistens.

Maybe the interest in mud or puddles is a little more intense.

Or if rain or water is aversive, the behavior could be more intense with getting away from wet surfaces.

💦 A few thoughts about how water can affect behavior even when it's not obvious. What have you seen after a rainfall that you didn't expect?!

08/24/2026

The BRIDGE to Safety Certification is a water safety certification built specifically for behavior analysts. It gives you the foundational clinical knowledge to address water-related injury and drowning risk within your existing scope of practice.

In the certification, you'll learn:

✅ What behaviors to look for that signal water injury or drowning risk

✅ How to modify environment and instruction to target water safety in your treatment plans

✅ How to connect with and educate the parents on your caseload

✅ How to generalize water safety skills across settings and people

✅ How to build a Water Safety Action Plan with families as part of treatment

✅ Confidence and clinical competence addressing water safety with your team and your families

Founding Cohort members also get the BRIDGE Bonus Group free for 6 months: live, 2x a month water-related discussion, Q&A, caseload review, mentorship and everything in-between.

Founding Cohort enrollment closes September 30.

Comment 'BRIDGE' for more information

08/19/2026

⁉️ If you're a behavior analyst who addresses wandering or elopement with a client, do you also address water safety? 🌊

Autism-related accidental drowning involving wandering and elopement is too high to ignore.

74% — of fatal drownings in autistic children involve wandering (Denny et al., 2021, citing Guan & Li, 2017).

As of 2025, 87% of autism-related accidental drownings were wandering/elopement based (National Autism Safety Council).

✨️The BRIDGE to Safety Certification helps behavior analysts gain confidence and competency around addressing water safety with clients and their treatment plans. Link in bio or private message me! I'd love to hear from you, and look out for some new updates coming soon!✨️

08/11/2026

A passionate topic and caffeine have become my superpowers😆

✨️I've been hard at work building out The BRIDGE to Safety Certificate, which is a behavior analytic water safety certificate. Doors are still open for our founding cohort for behavior analysts! Excited to continue to share steps to be involved in water safety (even without a pool) and advocate for goals to be on treatment plans.

❤️If you're a behavior analyst looking to leverage your position, expand your scope, or want more to say to parents than "enroll in swimming lessons," see our link or bio or private message me! I would love to have you along for the journey! And follow along for more updates in the works!

07/30/2026

✨️Behavior analysis can change and save lives outside of the autism industry. But it can also change and improve lives for families living with autism.

I never wanted to work a traditional role or for someone else in the ABA field. Call me stubborn, but I was more motivated with working outside the box because it gave me freedom, possibility, and better connection with people I care about.

🧡 Parents have always been part of my water safety journey. Their vulnerability of sharing fear of a child drowning and the isolation that challenging behaviors can have on a family is what motivated me to push for better solutions.

❓️Are you motivated with what you're doing? What problems do you think you could build a better solution and future for?

07/21/2026

💦 Behavior analysts belong in the world of water safety. And no, you don't have to be a swim instructor to teach or be actively involved in water safety.

‼️ One large gap that a standard swim curriculum has is 'assuming' that foundational/ prerequisite or pre-attending (however you want to label it) are consistent. In other words, the way the lesson is taught is assuming children can consistently: wait, follow one or multi-step directions, imitate, respond to their name, communicate, etc.

Sure, there are swimming lessons catered for young children, but neurodivergent children may not always benefit from this structure or age group.

✨️ This is where BCBAs can play a role, those same foundational goals you are working on at home are already expected at the pool. And you can help plan and generalize for water-based settings and activities✨️

07/21/2026

✨️Mood: Proud 

I haven’t been able to reflect much on what I’ve been doing lately. And I’m probably more tired than anything, but realized I need to give myself some love and praise.  

I’m proud of myself for just getting out there. Even though I’m not type A, when it comes to my work, I need it perfect… to the point I don’t share it. This has been a work in progress. 

I’m proud of: 

❤️ Creating and building the BRIDGE to Safety, water safety education through a behavior lens.  

💙 The BRIDGE to Safety Certification, a water safety certification for behavior analysts to be more involved in the solution while remaining within scope of practice. 

🧡 The request of other professionals to be part of BRIDGE to Safety (expanding this to include more professionals- coming soon!) 

💜 Taking chances and putting stuff out there, even when it’s not perfect enough for me 

💚 Trying out speaking engagements, no matter how big or small (if you know, you know! This makes me want to puke and pass out at the same time! Thankfully it’s getting better😊) 

✨️ Overall, my motivation for educating others about safety and seeing positive outcomes is more than my fear of failure or public speaking.

07/06/2026

💦 Splashing, stimming and throwing nearby ‘toys’ in the sink might look like curiosity and innocent water play, but are actually non-obvious risky behavior. This could unintentionally be reinforcing unsafe behavior around water that could increase risk for the future.

🚩 When water play becomes non-functional and ritualistic, it becomes a red flag. For some profiles, splashing or stimming in the sink doesn’t stop there.

For all children, ❌ Instead of this: Allowing water play at the sink, during transitions, after the bathroom, during teeth brushing

✅ Do this: Set clear rules for when water play is open vs closed

Closed: Sink, transitions, bathroom routine, brushing teeth

Open: Only when an adult sets the time and a designated place for water play like buckets outside, a water table, or a slip n slide.

✨️ In the BRIDGE to Safety Certification for behavior analysts, we talk a lot about obvious and non-obvious risky behaviors around water and what to do instead.

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Minneapolis, MN
55423

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