Health & Fitness
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PROFILE
Erica's
Details
Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist
Erica Rice, center, with Saundra Ryan of
Madison Heights and her kids Darian, 6, and
Logan, 4.
Certifications: Certified
Therapeutic Recreation
Specialist, 2000, Eastern
Michigan University. Worked
for three years at Hawthorn
Center in Northville, teach-
ing socialization, sports and
team building. This state-
funded hospital provides
inpatient psychiatric ser-
vices to children ages 5-17
who have severe emotional
or behavioral disorders.
Education: Bachelor of
Science in parks and recre-
ation from EMU, 1993.
Family: Erica married Chris
Gray, formerly of Whitmore
Lake, on April 23 at Temple
Kol Ami, West Bloomfield.
Her parents, Marilyn
and Michael Rice, live in.
Farmington Hills. She has
three younger siblings.
Affiliations: Beth
Mind-Body Connection
Swim instructor/therapist finds her calling
helping people put water to work.
Abraham HiIlel Moses,
West BlooMfield; Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit's Young Adult
•
Division.
Swim instruction fees: $20
a half hour for one person;
sliding rate for more partici-
pants in the same session.
Appointments: (248) 885-
2654 or ERFISH27@aol.com
"The water is calming and
opens the kids up to learning,"
says Erica Rice.
34
April 27 - 2006
Robert A. Sklar
Editor
Angie Baan
Staff Photographer
I
magine teaching kids the
fine points of swimming
and sensory stimulation in
the water. Some of this teacher's
clients have no special needs
while others may be autistic
or have cerebral palsy, Down's
syndrome or another learning or
physical impairment
That's the world of Erica Rice,
33, who relishes what she does.
The Farmington Hills woman
is a certified therapeutic recre-
ation specialist (CTRS), water
safety instructor and champion
for helping people find personal
fulfillment through exercise.
In addition to teaching
therapeutic techniques to spe-
cial needs kids, Rice also offers
general instruction for all ages in
how to achieve physical improve-
ment through swimming. Her
main base is the pool at the
Jewish Community Center in
,
West Bloomfield.
Kids are a special priority.
"The water is calming and opens
the kids up to learning," Rice
says."When I have been work-
ing with a child in the water on
a specific skill set for months
and they finally get it, I get very
emotional. I feel comfortable
with children and am able to
break down the learning process
so that they feel safe and are able
to have fun."
In the West Bloomfield
schools, Rice runs adaptive
gym classes for students via a
contract with the Birmingham-
based Variety FAR Conservatory
of Therapeutic and Performing
Arts. She teaches younger and
higher-need students such gross
motor skills as jumping and roll-
ing. Higher-functioning students
learn to play baseball, basketball
and soccer. Making kids feel a
sense of accomplishment is key.
"Working with students who
have different disabilities, it is
difficult to run a group that is
adaptive to each of their needs:'
Rice says."When I leave a ses-
sion and I feel that each student
.
got something out of it, or the
paraprofessionals say that was a
great group session, I feel won-
derful."
A.competitive swimmer at
West Bloomfield High School,
in the JCC Maccabi Games and
through local swim clubs, Rice
has taught swimming for 15
years. She became a CTRS four
years ago after feeling she could
do more for others through
aquatic therapy.
Once a week, West Bloomfield
schools bring their autistic
students to the JCC to swim. "It
is great fOr me to watch their
progress in the pool even though
I am not instructing them at that
time," Rice says.
Adults are easier to orient in
the pool."Children.usually need
to be distracted with games and
songs, making it fun:' Rice says.
Rice is assembling a team of
certified lifeguafds and water
safety instructors to travel to
homes with pools this summer
to give swimming lessons.
In addition to swimming, Rice
personally does weight training
and cardiovascular workouts
at the JCC. She plans to teach
Pilates there next year. She
strives to eat healthy meals and
snacks — lean protein, veggies,
fruit, good carbs and yogurt.
Saundra Ryan of Madison
Heights met Rice in an Oak
Park adult coed kickball league
last summer. When she found
out that Rice taught swimming,
Ryan decided it was time to
get her kids — Darian, 6, and
Logan, 4 — used to the water.
"My husband, Dale, and I take
the kids camping a lot, and I
wanted them to be able to swim
without our having to be there
every second:' said Saundra, who
comes from a family of swim-
mers.
The Ryan kids, who have no
special needs, take lessons at the
JCC once a week. "Erica is fantas-
tic with the kids',' Ryan says. "She
has a good demeanor and they
.really listen to her. My daughter
especially was terrified of the
water, but Erica takes their mind
off any fear by talking to them
in the water about other things
— then they are fine." ❑