Today we’d like to introduce you to Linda Cosby.
Hi Linda, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
HOW WILL I RESPOND? Linda Cosby – AngelFishGA – Adaptive Aquatics
There are moments in your life when your axis shifts, and you are faced with the question – “HOW WILL I RESPOND?” This has happened to me several times in my life and through faith and family, I found myself taking huge directional shifts.
Who am I? I am a servant. Full stop.
I look at life through this filter and with faith and trust move forward.
I am a granddaughter of missionaries, a single mom of two, an abuse survivor, a successful professional, a caregiver to my stroke-affected momma, an injured worker (disabled), a nana to my three precious grands, the last of whom was born with Down Syndrome. I am a Swim Whisperer.
HOW WILL I RESPOND?
Swimming has always been a part of the DNA of our family/tribe. I have always been a swimmer and started teaching swimming at 14. The water is my place of joy and strength. There is magic in the water. Then three significant events occurred that cemented my life in the water.
• First, my momma, at age 78, had three hemorrhagic strokes while swimming laps right next to me. Although she did receive emergency care within 20 minutes of her strokes, she was never able to walk again. My strong, fearless, powerful momma was now wheelchair-bound and completely in my and my sister’s care. One year later, I brought her back into the water where she was able to move independently and feel the joy of the water. She was my first angelfish. She was given one year to live, and she was with us for nine.
• Then, I sustained a work injury at my L4/L5. The damage was inoperable and disabling. Maintaining my physical core strength would be critical and there is no better place to do that than in the water. Water is the place where I feel no pain. Gravity is not my friend.
• Lastly, my sweet Elise was born. My third grandchild – born with Down Syndrome. This precious life entered the world and my daughter and her husband faced life with faith and trust in God to make Elise’s life the very best it could ever be.
Being a family of swimmers and knowing how much the water could help her on her life’s physical journey, Elise started in the water with an untrained “adaptive” instructor. This was NOT successful and resulted in fear and unnecessary roadblocks for her. What we learned was that just because someone SAYS they work with special needs children, if they do not have adequate training, they can cause harm.
HOW WILL I RESPOND?
I am Elise’s Nana. After this epic fail for her, I also realized that I was not qualified to teach her myself – so I sought out the best training I could find so I could teach her. My response was fueled by righteous anger and drove me to seek out the absolute best in adaptive aquatics training. I found Swim Angelfish (R) Adaptive Methodology, a program developed over the past 24 years by the founders, an OT, and a PT in the northeast. Cindy Miller Freeman and Ailene Tisser have created a platform of development and are experts in how and why of adaptive swimming. Their passion for adaptive swimming has resulted in hundreds of “Swim Whisperers” being certified worldwide plus FREE parent videos available to anyone on YouTube. The SAF program continues year over year with added content and in-person workshops and offers growth for this incredible community of adaptive professionals. I am proud to be one.
I got trained. I recruited a dear friend/swimmer and momma of an older boy with DS to join me and we launched AngelFishGA – Adaptive Aquatics in partnership with Gwinnett County Aquatics in the fall of 2017. We started with twelve swimmers in January and by that summer had increased our swimmers to over 100/week with 5 SAF-certified instructors.
AFGA has seen the program explode with swimmers and success over the past five years and we now average over two hundred swimmers every week all over Gwinnett County. Swimmers travel in from Athens, Hall County, Dekalb and even Peachtree City to swim with us. We offer lessons to swimmers of all ages and abilities and create innovative programs for them and their families. Our programs include Minnows & Mommas for our little angelfish, private, semi-private and group lessons, INTENSIVE week long sets of lessons for holiday breaks, adult swim for exercise classes and Special Olympics GA Traditional Clinics where our racers practice year-round. We have formed our own agency with Special Olympics GA: AngelFishGA/GWINNETT Agency for Area 18 and we are able to take swimmers to Emory University every year for the SOGA Summer Games.
We partner with Gwinnett County Aquatics, All About Kids Therapy Services Inc and Freedom Concepts in the No Limits TRYAthlons – held twice a year in the spring and fall for special needs athletes aged 4 – 21. We partner with Spectrum Autism Support and Gwinnett County Aquatics to host the Annual Adaptive Family Swim Party in the summer where over 350 swimmers and their families come to swim and play and enjoy the pool together. FOR FREE. Gwinnett County and AFGA come together and provide information and support at the annual Buddy Walk for Down Syndrome Awareness and at the GA Family Fun Run for ASD Awareness with Spectrum Autism Support. We attend resource fairs and speaking engagements to share insight and support for others who might want to launch a similar adaptive program and have presented at the GA Parks and Recreation Annual Conference and the AOAP (Association of Aquatic Professionals) Conference and will be joining Swim Angelfish founders again in 2023 to speak about the vital importance of adaptive aquatics.
DID YOU KNOW?
• 45% of all children are born on the autism (ASD) spectrum and many of them also struggle with sensory processing disorder (SPD). Many of these children are “bolters’ and are drawn to water for so many reasons. The hydrostatic pressure of the water feels great to them and the pressure under the water releases dopamine which washes away the adrenaline in the brain helping them calm and regulate. The water provides so much input to them when they splash and spin – it can become their favorite activity. BUT only if they know how to swim. If they don’t, it can be tragic. DROWNING is the number 1 cause of death for kiddos age 10 and under with SPD and ASD.
• Down Syndrome is the most common chromosomal disability in the world today with 1 in 700 babies affected. It is not just DS however and when you add all the rest into the numbers (William Syndrome, Prader Willi, Dup Q, Cerebral Palsy just to name a few), OVER 50% OF OUR KIDDOS ARE IMPACTED BY A PHYSICAL AND/OR COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENTS.
SHOULDN’T OUR SERVICES MATCH THESE NUMBERS?
I dream of AngelFish/USA, where every state and county offer inclusive and proper adaptive activities and experiences for our incredible kiddos. I pray that everyone who chooses to get involved cares enough to get proper training as untrained people CAUSE HARM. One of my new swimmers was thrown into the deep end of a pool in a program named “learn to swim in a week” prior to starting with AFGA. It was horrible. It has taken him 9 months to overcome this trauma. You should never do this to a typical child much less a special needs child. I hear stories of families who fill their backyard pools with dirt for fear of their child bolting and jumping into the pool. I have so many stories. Swimming is a life skill for all children/adults. It is not OPTIONAL. We all must come together to recognize the vital importance of this process and fund programs/develop partnerships accordingly.
WHAT IS NEXT FOR AFGA? What is next for me? HOW WILL I RESPOND?
I turn 67 this year. I have a shorter shelf-life.
It has always been so important to work toward sustainability for AFGA. To develop a program that can outlive me. I want to work to influence and support any location, county and/or group to develop similar programs for our incredible athletes by being an open resource. The work is so incredible and changes all who are involved. My instructors are some of the best people I have ever known and after their time swimming with our angelfish move on to lives of service. I am proud of my prior instructors who now work as Special Education Teachers, Pediatric NICU RNs, ABA Therapists, Naval Engineers and my current bench includes swimming professionals, prior aquatic directors, students working toward their PHDs as OTs, prior SPED teachers and Hall County parent liaisons for the special needs community.
2023 will be a huge year of change for AFGA as we merge our program with Gwinnett County Aquatics. Gwinnett County Aquatics leadership has always supported AFGA and now wants to help expand the adaptive program and create something that is long-term and ongoing regardless of who is leading the charge. Their commitment to the Swim Angelfish (R) Adaptive Training is solid and GC recognizes SAF as the global leader in this arena and the only way they will continue to grow the adaptive aquatics program all over the county will be through this vital training for external and internal staff. The county also recognizes the importance of providing excellent swimming instruction and has increased their compensation accordingly.
2023 could be our best year yet when we see over 250 swimmers every week in the spring/fall and upwards of 500/week this summer.
Expanding programs and opportunities for swimmers in a way that is congruent with the Gwinnett County vision of EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AND ACCESS FOR INDIVIDUALS OF ALL ABILITIES all over Gwinnett County.
As AngelFishGA – Adaptive Aquatics becomes the AngelFish/GWINNETT Adaptive Aquatics program, we all expect to see more swimmers learning how to swim and enhancing the lives of their families.
The end? NO – just the beginning.
THIS IS HOW WE RESPOND.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Life is full of pitfalls. I think what matters more though is how we choose to respond. AngelFishGA has never needed to advertise for the program but rather must seek out the “right” people with the right hearts to learn to be a part of this program. The work can be hard. You must be at your best every single day with every single swimmer. Each one is unique and nothing is common.
But oh, the joy when a breakthrough day happens. A swimmer choosing to put their face, or even just their cheek in the water. A swimmer moving forward independently toward the wall, feeling the joy of it, experiencing the power of it – it’s amazing.
This is such a marathon. Our special kiddos need lots and lots and LOTS of patience.
This has been the challenge for AFGA. We are full 99% year-round. We have hundreds of kiddos on wait lists.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I describe my life in the “first this, then that” type of way.
Pre-adult: I studied music performance (trumpet emphasis) and ended up with a pink tassel hanging from my graduation hat and no job in sight. All the business majors had navy blue tassels. I did get my degree, I guess that’s something. Hindsight is always 20/20.
First this:
I spent over 40 years in the restaurant business at all levels. It’s funny really, all the hats I have worn. If you string all of my titles together it might look something like this: AMGMDMVPOHRDirDirDevelopmentTr
I loved to find gems and train them well. Food was simply the palette I used to find and paint a picture with the people I was honored to employ. I wanted them to know that they mattered. This is still applicable today.
Then that:
I got hurt at work. It was permanent. I lost a lot of “stuff” – I’ve never really cared about stuff. I did care about my own character though and had to decide – Do I choose to hide in a corner and lick my wounds or step out with faith and be the best of what I could be even with limitations?
I chose to step OUT. First by moving from CO to GA to be near my daughter and my soon-to-be grand and then waiting for God to reveal what He had for me. My faith has always been my bedrock.
What am I known for?
I am a servant.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Absolutely.
1. Find your passions. Do what you love, love what you do and ALWAYS deliver more than you promise.
2. Find your people. NETWORKING matters. Seek others with similar passions, knock on doors, ask good questions, learn and grow daily. Try new things. Volunteer to come alongside and learn!
3. Make a commitment to yourself and deliver on it. No one else has to know. Promise yourself something and do it. The value of your self-affirmation will be so huge.
4. Measure your value by your own set of values! Social media is not a measure of YOU. You are the ultimate evaluator or YOU. Trust me, you’ll know if you’ve let yourself down. It’s an audience you can’t hide from.
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER give up on a dream. Write them down. Cast a vision. Paint a picture.
Give yourself a break. Self-forgiveness matters too.
Be ready to change directions on a dime. You never know when life will throw you a curve.
HOW WILL YOU RESPOND?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://angelfishga-adaptiveaquatics.com/
- Instagram: angelfish_gwinnett_county
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AngelFishGA
- Youtube: swim angelfish
Image Credits
Stephanie Mullowney Kelli Kulick Linda Cosby
