What is Immersion Therapy?

The Immersion Therapy is becoming recognised across Australia and internationally as a world first in which people with injury or disability gain access to movement through immersion in water using equipment similar that used in scuba diving. It is not SCUBA diving.

The Immersion Therapy™ service was specially developed to offer freedom of movement within a weightless environment and work within the well-recognised benefits of a Biopsychosocial model. It has demonstrated great results for those who have participated, and you can read about Melissa and Kye Poole below.

Immersion Therapy™ founder Peter Wilson used his own personal experiences overcoming a serious workplace injury, to come up with the therapy which is delivered via his company Determined2, based in Adelaide.

Immersion Therapy™ has won several awards including the 2016 National Disability Awards Excellence in Inclusive Service Delivery. These awards are internationally recognised as part of the United Nations International Day of People with Disability.

Funding of Immersion Therapy

Immersion Therapy™ is an approved service and people may gain access to the therapy under the following schemes:

• Return to Work SA
• Lifetime Support Authority (LSA)
• DisabilitySA (DSPP)
• National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

If you need to understand more about accessing funding under state based schemes contact Immersion Therapy directly or the various schemes directly.

Under the NDIS you may be able to include immersion therapy under the following support categories:

• Therapy support for individuals
• Learning and life skills development
• Recreational/holiday programs

It might be best to speak to your support coordinator about how to include it in your plan . Based on NDIS guidelines if the therapy directly supports your disability and is linked to personal outcomes such as community and social inclusion, mental health and well-being you may have it  included it in your plan.

Who benefits from immersion therapy?

Immersion Therapy has been accessed by a wide group of individuals and the benefits are not limited to any one condition, disability or injury.

Children and adults living with physical and intellectual disabilities, people with injuries varying from mild to severe and those living with serious medical conditions can all benefit from immersion therapy including individuals living with but not limited to:

• Complete and in-complete spinal cord injuries from L1-C4
• Single and multiple amputations
• Acquired Brain Injuries Mild-Severe
• Neurological conditions such as Cerebral Palsy level 1-4 and Nero Paraplegia  
• Autism high and low functioning
• PTSD, Anxiety and Depression  
• Dwarfism
• Post-surgery recovery Shoulders, Knees
• Back aches and sprains

The broad range of individuals and the group setting in which the service is delivered underpins the psychological and social benefits to all that attend. The physical benefits are achieved by being active in a weightless environment while every motion is against resistance, the functional capacity increases are a very positive by-product for participants.

So if you not convinced, maybe reading about the personal experiences of Melissa and Kye Poole may change your mind. This is what Melissa Poole from Port Lincoln had to say about Immersion therapy:

My Autistic son Kye experienced his first Immersion Therapy session recently in Port Lincoln. We decided to get involved with the company through Leo Stewart at the dive shop  as my son has a passion for the underwater world.

The whole process from the very beginning was a WIN-WIN for Kye, from the health safety checks to his orientation and to the moment he got in the pool.

I quickly realised as a parent the benefits of Immersion therapy:  lots of visual hand signals as a communication tool for Kye. For people like Kye, processing detailed verbal instruction can be a challenge resulting in isolation from their peers.

Because of the visual instructions Kye was able to follow all safety procedures and was immediately engaged in the task ahead resulting in consistent reciprocal communication during the session with his instructor - this is therapy as we have been working for most of Kye’s life to work towards social inclusion where he can relate to his environment, watching this unfold brought a tear to my eye (I must admit) left me in awe of the benefits for Kye and other families with children on the spectrum.

Throughout the session I observed the best eye contact from Kye I have ever seen it’s as if his autism disappeared for the whole duration, while we were witness to this magical experience for Kye.

The other benefits were how Kye became part of a tight social circle with all the other participants and instructors as they accommodated his needs, by asking about autism in general and trying to understand how best to support Kye. The expression on his face was mostly jovial, the whole time encouraging cheeky banter with each other is something we take for granted but is a learnt skill for people with autism due to the lack of understanding of facial expression and relating in general in a social context.

Determined2’s future engagement with the disability community is not only beneficial but absolutely necessary as we must continue to offer services that give quality of life and create equality in our communities, I am looking  forward to future sessions with this amazing company and would like to thank Leo Stewart, Peter Wilson, Tim Maloney, Brendan Thayer, Ben Everson, Richie Davis, and all involved behind the scenes for giving my son this opportunity to help him continue to move forward as a young adult with autism spectrum disorder transitioning towards independence in his community .