SINGAPORE – Physiotherapists had given up on Madam Peggy Tan, not knowing how to handle her advanced Alzheimer’s.

Madam Tan, who relies on a wheelchair, has osteoporosis, which causes bone tissue to deteriorate and raises fracture risk.

But two months ago, she entered a swimming pool at the Enabling Village for the first time in years to join an adaptive physical disability class. There, she stretches and moves her body to help with her mobility, buoyed by the water.

In April, Singapore’s first fully inclusive private indoor swim school for persons with disabilities opened at the Enabling Village in Redhill.

The pool is run by swim school Little Splashes Aquatics, which has pools in seven locations islandwide. The school caters mainly to babies and children, but also offers free adaptive swimming classes for children and adults with special needs and physical disabilities.

The 1m-deep indoor pool is designed for comfort and accessibility, with a wheelchair-friendly ramp and water heated at 32 degrees – similar to the room temperature – so people do not feel a change in temperature going in and out of the pool.

Mr Edward Chew, senior director at SG Enable&rs...