'Time to smile in the water for every child' ── miraii Launches Full-Scale Swimming Instructor Training Program for Children with Disabilities in FY2026
General Incorporated Association miraii, which operates 'Iruka Kyoshitsu' (Dolphin Classroom), a swimming class for children with disabilities, will fully launch a training program for specialized swimming instructors starting April 2026.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 23, 2026 at 18:26
- 🔍 Collected: April 23, 2026 at 10:01
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 24, 2026 at 04:34 (18h 32m after Collected)
'They wouldn't accept us at the swimming school.'
── Started from just one such consultation, the swimming class 'Iruka Kyoshitsu' (operated by General Incorporated Association miraii / Nagoya City) will fully launch an initiative to train swimming instructors who can closely support children with disabilities, starting from April 2026.
This project will proceed in stages over multiple years with grants from the Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Blue Bird Foundation and the Sumitomo Life Health Foundation.
Increasing the number of "people who can get involved" is just as important as expanding the places.
We believe that this is what we need to tackle right now.
■ "We cannot accept them here" ── There are children who are told this
Swimming is said to be a sport that not only teaches how to use the body but also fosters confidence and social skills.
However, there are certainly children who cannot even stand at that entrance.
Children with severe disabilities.
Children who require medical care.
Children who have difficulty staying still.
Children who are very particular and have trouble understanding instructions.
Children who, although undiagnosed, quietly struggle in a group setting, the so-called "gray zone."
And the siblings who often put their own time on the back burner alongside their family's caregiving duties.
── It is not at all uncommon for such children to be told at their neighborhood swimming school, "We cannot accept them here."
Still, they want to get used to the water, they want to learn to swim, they want to smile in the pool.
There is a reality where children and parents who wish for this have nowhere to go.
Even if they are accepted, incidents can occur where they are loudly reprimanded or held down by force because the instructors do not know how to interact with them.
It is not that the instructors have malicious intent.
Opportunities to learn how to properly interact are simply not yet sufficiently available in society.
And there is one more thing we have strongly felt as we continue to stand on the front lines.
── The potential of children, who actually could have grown much more, is not yet fully brought out due to a lack of understanding from surrounding adults and inadequate environments.
If a line is drawn early on saying, "It's too difficult for this child," time passes without anyone knowing how far that child could have actually gone.
We feel that this is a quiet, yet enormous loss for the child, for their family, and for society.
It is not just about the lack of accepting facilities, but how to increase the number of adults who can carefully draw out the inherent potential of each individual child.
We believe that the challenge we are facing includes all of this.
■ A class that started with just one coach
The origin of Iruka Kyoshitsu dates back to the summer of 2022.
One child with a disability who was refused entry by a swimming school was taken in by a single coach who said, "Well then, I'll teach them at our place."
At first, that was really it.
But that story spread by word of mouth, and consultations saying, "Actually, my child too..." slowly started to come in.
Children with intellectual disabilities, autism, physical paralysis, chronic pediatric specific diseases, and their siblings.
Before we knew it, the number had grown beyond what individual goodwill could handle.
If I continue doing this alone, I will hit a limit someday.
I can't just abandon these children halfway.
And so, in April 2025, under the General Incorporated Association miraii, we launched "Iruka Kyoshitsu" as an official project.
Now, dozens of children attend almost every week.
■ There is a scenery that only becomes visible in the water
At Iruka Kyoshitsu, we value guidance that does not rely on corporal punishment or reprimand.
Even if it takes time, we look at what the child is feeling right now and interact with them so they can encounter the water at their own pace.
As a result of continuing this approach, we have witnessed many "small miracles."
A child with cerebral palsy and lower limb paralysis became able to walk and jump on land as they continued aquatic activities.
A child with severe intellectual disability and autism became able to control their elimination through the pool and gradually learned to swim.
A child who cried because they were afraid of the water was smiling and kicking their legs six months later.
None of these are flashy stories.
But for that child, it is an event that changes their world a little.
And for the parents watching beside them ── it is the moment of "I did it!" that they had almost given up on for a long time.
■ One class alone cannot support everyone
As we continue, we have also faced another frustration.
── Started from just one such consultation, the swimming class 'Iruka Kyoshitsu' (operated by General Incorporated Association miraii / Nagoya City) will fully launch an initiative to train swimming instructors who can closely support children with disabilities, starting from April 2026.
This project will proceed in stages over multiple years with grants from the Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Blue Bird Foundation and the Sumitomo Life Health Foundation.
Increasing the number of "people who can get involved" is just as important as expanding the places.
We believe that this is what we need to tackle right now.
■ "We cannot accept them here" ── There are children who are told this
Swimming is said to be a sport that not only teaches how to use the body but also fosters confidence and social skills.
However, there are certainly children who cannot even stand at that entrance.
Children with severe disabilities.
Children who require medical care.
Children who have difficulty staying still.
Children who are very particular and have trouble understanding instructions.
Children who, although undiagnosed, quietly struggle in a group setting, the so-called "gray zone."
And the siblings who often put their own time on the back burner alongside their family's caregiving duties.
── It is not at all uncommon for such children to be told at their neighborhood swimming school, "We cannot accept them here."
Still, they want to get used to the water, they want to learn to swim, they want to smile in the pool.
There is a reality where children and parents who wish for this have nowhere to go.
Even if they are accepted, incidents can occur where they are loudly reprimanded or held down by force because the instructors do not know how to interact with them.
It is not that the instructors have malicious intent.
Opportunities to learn how to properly interact are simply not yet sufficiently available in society.
And there is one more thing we have strongly felt as we continue to stand on the front lines.
── The potential of children, who actually could have grown much more, is not yet fully brought out due to a lack of understanding from surrounding adults and inadequate environments.
If a line is drawn early on saying, "It's too difficult for this child," time passes without anyone knowing how far that child could have actually gone.
We feel that this is a quiet, yet enormous loss for the child, for their family, and for society.
It is not just about the lack of accepting facilities, but how to increase the number of adults who can carefully draw out the inherent potential of each individual child.
We believe that the challenge we are facing includes all of this.
■ A class that started with just one coach
The origin of Iruka Kyoshitsu dates back to the summer of 2022.
One child with a disability who was refused entry by a swimming school was taken in by a single coach who said, "Well then, I'll teach them at our place."
At first, that was really it.
But that story spread by word of mouth, and consultations saying, "Actually, my child too..." slowly started to come in.
Children with intellectual disabilities, autism, physical paralysis, chronic pediatric specific diseases, and their siblings.
Before we knew it, the number had grown beyond what individual goodwill could handle.
If I continue doing this alone, I will hit a limit someday.
I can't just abandon these children halfway.
And so, in April 2025, under the General Incorporated Association miraii, we launched "Iruka Kyoshitsu" as an official project.
Now, dozens of children attend almost every week.
■ There is a scenery that only becomes visible in the water
At Iruka Kyoshitsu, we value guidance that does not rely on corporal punishment or reprimand.
Even if it takes time, we look at what the child is feeling right now and interact with them so they can encounter the water at their own pace.
As a result of continuing this approach, we have witnessed many "small miracles."
A child with cerebral palsy and lower limb paralysis became able to walk and jump on land as they continued aquatic activities.
A child with severe intellectual disability and autism became able to control their elimination through the pool and gradually learned to swim.
A child who cried because they were afraid of the water was smiling and kicking their legs six months later.
None of these are flashy stories.
But for that child, it is an event that changes their world a little.
And for the parents watching beside them ── it is the moment of "I did it!" that they had almost given up on for a long time.
■ One class alone cannot support everyone
As we continue, we have also faced another frustration.