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Not only that, but water wings are NOT considered a safety device. If the stupid woman had put a life jacket on the kid, then she'd have a case. Oh wait, no she wouldn't. Life jackets are allowed in the pool. No case.
That changes the whole picture -- if life jackets are allowed and this child needed a life jacket, then the pool was certainly in it's rights. A "floatie" doesn't sound like it would be very effective for anyone who cannot swim, and the minute the floatie gets away and child drowns, you can bet this mother would have dollar signs in her eyes and eager for every lawsuit dollar she could hope to get ahold of. She sounds like she's just out for money now. No one thinks that something called a "floatie" would be to save you from drowning. Life jacket yes.
One of my closest friends has CP. He's 30 years old and has progressively lost function. Luckily his local pool has both a lift for his wheelchair (if he needs to use it) and allows him to use a pool noodle to keep his head above water while he exercises his lower body. However, if they DIDN'T accommodate him, he would have nowhere else to go. He lives in a city, has no family (was abandoned into the foster care system and, because he has those special needs, was never adopted), and has no way to get from place to place. His whole world is limited to the few blocks around his apartment unless his best friend (my boyfriend) or I can pick him up - we're the only people in his life with cars and I work full time.
You're right, the floaties are reasonable accommodation. I wouldn't even think to *ask* a pool if it was OK for my child to wear floaties - they're so commonplace. When my friend was a kid, that's what he used. You know who told him to use floaties and (now) a boogie board or pool noodle? His DOCTOR and OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST.
Thanks for posting this, because a lot of the arm chair experts here on CD don't know squat (nothing new there). A life jacket might be appropriate for an able bodied person, but devices like floaties, noodles, boogie boards etc. may well be more appropriate for someone with major mobility issues, because they can use them to support different areas of the body. In the case of your friend, a life jacket isn't going to help him keep his head up. The other factor is that these visitors aren't going to be jumping off the high board and expecting the floaties to keep them from drowning --they're more for stability in shallow water. The child was in the pool with adult supervision.
As for the pool "rules"--it doesn't matter what they are--their rules have to follow the LAW. The Americans with Disabilities act requires that they make any reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities, regardless of what their "rules" are for able bodied persons.
A couple of my teenage sons work as lifeguards during the summer. I asked them how this would be handled at their pool, and they both said that when issues come up with disabled visitors, the onsite manager handles it--not the teenage lifeguards. The city council has made sure that park, pool, etc. managers have been trained in ADA issues. They have and do make accommodations for individuals under the ADA all the time. In other words, general pool patrons can't use floaties, noodles, etc. but individuals requiring them for therapy or mobility can. Our pool was designed to be zero clearance so people can take wheelchairs in, etc as well.
It sounds to me like this is a very badly managed pool with a poorly trained staff. When that happens, the city gets what it deserves. It's a pity that people have to go on TV or sue to get communities to follow what should be basic practices for all public facilities.
ADA makes rules the pool has to follow and the people who have disabled kids don't follow the rules and use the proper floating devices and scream foul. Gimme a break. Go toss your kid in a lake if you don't want to follow the rules.
This is a safety issue. Those "floatie" are unsafe. That is why they are not allowed. The boy should wear a life preserver meant for pool swimming. Simple solution.
As a parent of a disabled child my opinion is this woman should have found out what the rules were in advance and taken her child to a facility where the rules would accommodate him. She is not in the right here. I never put my child in a situation like this because I find out what the facts are before we go somewhere like this.
Correct. Floaties are also not the only option for her child. I find it over the top that the cops and or the lifeguards pushed it so far though. Like you I find out the rules first to avoid a bad situation.
This is a safety issue. Those "floatie" are unsafe. That is why they are not allowed. The boy should wear a life preserver meant for pool swimming. Simple solution.
You are correct. It would have been the best solution begining to end.
By god we have finally agreed on something....
As a mother of a special needs child, I always check the rules of places (like the skating rink; can I walk the rink with him if I wear sneakers) and if they can't accommodate him I find another place. If it's something special like a bday party, I try to talk to with the staff beforehand to see what accommodations can be made; in this case a life jacket would have worked.
This is just another mother who think she deserves special treatment. I feel sorry for the kid because they are the ones who end up hurt by these style of parenting.
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A life jacket might be appropriate for an able bodied person, but devices like floaties, noodles, boogie boards etc. may well be more appropriate for someone with major mobility issues, because they can use them to support different areas of the body. In the case of your friend, a life jacket isn't going to help him keep his head up. The other factor is that these visitors aren't going to be jumping off the high board and expecting the floaties to keep them from drowning 
--they're more for stability in shallow water. The child was in the pool with adult supervision.
