Making a Splash: How Hydrotherapy Can Help Children with Disabilities Thrive
Most kids love the water, but it can be particularly beneficial for children with disabilities. Hydrotherapy for kids makes use of warm water’s unique properties to support their physical, sensory and emotional development.
In a therapy pool, children can practice skills they may find difficult on land, helping them develop better balance, strength, flexibility, coordination or confidence.
At Active Ability, our experienced allied health professionals use water therapy exercises to help children achieve their goals in a fun, safe, and supportive setting.
What is hydrotherapy?
Hydrotherapy is a form of physiotherapy or exercise therapy performed in a heated therapy pool. The warmth of the water, combined with its buoyancy, creates an environment where children can move more freely with less discomfort. Therapy in a pool can also feel more like fun for kids who spend a lot of time in clinical environments.
Paediatric hydrotherapy sessions are carefully planned around each child’s individual needs, abilities and NDIS goals. Sessions are led by allied health professionals to improve movement, strength, balance and function.
In the water, many children are willing to try movements that they might normally avoid on land. This allows them to experience success, gain confidence and develop key skills.
Why is water such an effective therapy environment?
Water has therapeutic properties that make it particularly beneficial for children with disability.
Buoyancy reduces pressure on joints
Water can support most or all of your child’s body weight, easing stress on their joints and muscles. Children who find it difficult to roll, reach, stand or walk on land can often practise these skills in an aquatic physiotherapy session – helping them build important movement patterns.
Natural resistance builds strength
When you move your body through water, its density provides resistance. This resistance is smooth and evenly distributed, helping children build muscle strength and endurance with minimal risk of injury. The harder your child pushes, the more resistance the water provides, so activities can easily be adapted to different abilities.
Warm water relaxes muscles
Therapeutic pools are generally heated to about 32–34°C. Warm water can help relax tight muscles, reduce stiffness and improve flexibility. For children with increased muscle tone or spasticity, this can make movement more comfortable and effective.
Better body awareness
The water provides constant sensory feedback as it surrounds the body. This helps children become more aware of their posture and movement, supporting the development of balance, coordination and motor planning.
An ideal therapeutic environment
Therapy is most successful when participants are highly motivated and engaged with it. Because paediatric physiotherapy in the pool feels more like play, most kids are eager to participate, helping them reach their goals.
The physical benefits of hydrotherapy for kids
The physical benefits of hydrotherapy for children can include:
- improved muscle strength
- better balance and coordination
- increased flexibility and range of motion
- improved mobility
- greater cardiovascular fitness
- better posture and core stability
- reduced muscle stiffness
- improved endurance for everyday activities
- greater independence with movement.
A therapy pool can be a great place to build strength, balance and movement skills
The sensory benefits of aquatic therapy
For many children, aquatic therapy also provides important sensory experiences that support healthy development.
The gentle pressure of the water provides continuous sensory input, which can have a calming effect for children with sensory processing differences. The predictable resistance of the water also helps children understand how their bodies move through space.
Some children feel calmer and more focused after hydrotherapy sessions, while others develop greater confidence exploring new movements.
Depending on your child’s needs, hydrotherapy may help support:
- sensory regulation
- body awareness (proprioception)
- attention and concentration
- confidence in movement
- social interaction during group activities.
Could my child benefit from hydrotherapy?
Hydrotherapy can be helpful for children with a wide range of developmental, neurological, genetic and physical conditions.
Some of the most common paediatric conditions warm water therapy can help with include:
- cerebral palsy
- autism spectrum disorder (particularly where goals are related to motor (movement) skills, coordination or sensory regulation)
- developmental delay
- Down syndrome
- muscular dystrophy
- spina bifida
- developmental coordination disorder (DCD or dyspraxia)
- acquired brain injury
- neurological conditions
- orthopaedic conditions
- recovery after an injury or surgery.
What happens during a hydrotherapy session?
Every child has different strengths and challenges, so therapy programs are always tailored to your child’s goals. Your therapist will design a program of water therapy exercises to improve specific skills, such as sitting, walking or kicking.
Sessions may be one-on-one or, in some cases, delivered in small groups.
A typical NDIS paediatric therapy session in the pool may include activities like:
- walking forwards, backwards or sideways through the water
- balance games
- reaching and catching activities
- kicking and stepping exercises
- floating activities
- jumping or bouncing with support
- obstacle courses
- core strengthening activities
- stretching and mobility exercises.
A paediatric hydrotherapy session includes various activities to help kids reach their goals
How hydrotherapy complements other therapies
Hydrotherapy often works best as part of a broader program of allied health for children. It can be a great complement to NDIS physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and exercise physiology.
For example, a child working on standing balance with their physiotherapist can practise similar movements in the pool, where buoyancy makes it easier. As they develop greater strength and confidence in the water, these gains often cross over to improvements on land.
Similarly, hydrotherapy can be an engaging environment for children working on coordination or sensory regulation with an occupational therapist.
Hydrotherapy itself can be an effective from of paediatric rehabilitation. One review of 16 trials found that it can improve mental health, balance, and movement control in children with neurodevelopmental conditions.[i]
Another review of 19 studies found that aquatic therapy delivered by professionals improved motor and social skills in children with autism spectrum disorder.[ii] It also led to a significant decrease in autistic behaviours.
Other studies have shown that it can have a positive effect on motor performance, behaviour and other body functions (e.g. lung function and sleep) in children with disability.[iii]
In some cases, it may even be the first choice of therapy, with a recent study finding hydrotherapy had a more positive effect on gross motor functions in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy than the usual treatments (such as strength, balance and motor coordination training).[iv]
Is hydrotherapy funded through the NDIS?
Hydrotherapy for kids may be funded through the NDIS when it is considered reasonable and necessary and aligns with the participant’s goals and plan.
Funding arrangements vary depending on individual circumstances and the type of support being delivered. Your therapist can discuss whether hydrotherapy is appropriate for your child and explain how sessions may fit within your supports.
NDIS paediatric therapy to help kids thrive
At Active Ability, we believe every child deserves the chance to move, play, learn and achieve their potential.
Aquatic therapy can play a key role in that journey, whether your child wants to get more mobile, build strength, keep up with their peers, or participate more fully in everyday life.
With support from our experienced therapists, children can explore movement and enjoy therapy that feels more like play.
Give us a call us on (02) 8678 7874, email [email protected] or use our contact form to learn more about how NDIS hydrotherapy could help your child.
References
[1] Shariat A, Najafabadi MG, Dos Santos IK, et al. The Effectiveness of Aquatic Therapy on Motor and Social Skill as Well as Executive Function in Children With Neurodevelopmental Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2024;105(5):1000-1007. doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2023.08.025
[2] van t Hooft, P., Moeijes, J., Hartman, C. et al. Aquatic Interventions to Improve Motor and Social Functioning in Children with ASD: A Systematic Review. Rev J Autism Dev Disord (2024). doi.org/10.1007/s40489-024-00464-z
[3] Ogonowska-Slodownik A, Jakobowicz O, Alexander L, Marinho-Buzelli AR, Devion C, Morgulec-Adamowicz N. Aquatic Therapy in Children and Adolescents with Disabilities: A Scoping Review. Children (Basel). 2024;11(11):1404. Published 2024 Nov 20. doi:10.3390/children11111404
[4] Tao Y, Cao Z, Shin MC, Chen M, Han S. The effects of hydrotherapy on athletic ability in children with cerebral palsy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One. 2025;20(6):e0325517. Published 2025 Jun 10. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0325517
