Cognition refers to mental processes like thinking, learning, and problem-solving. This document discusses cognition in the context of beach safety awareness. It provides tips for ensuring safety for people with conditions that can affect cognition, including breaking tasks into steps, limiting distractions, using simple language, and practicing skills through errorless learning. Memory, attention, processing speed, and problem-solving ability can all impact safety, so adaptations may be needed to support people with cognitive challenges.

1. Cognition

2. Cognition
Cognition is a term that refers to the mental process of
thinking, knowing, learning and understanding.
Throughout this module we will learn about cognition and
how it relates to safely awareness and problem-solving at
the beach.

3. • Before we dive into safety
awareness, let's talk about
basic beach safety
• There will always be a
Lifeguard at the beach and
a majority of the AccesSurf
Key Leaders are first aid
certified.
• Remember the Safety Hand
Signals
Beach safety

4. Beach and Water Safety
Top things to remember
• Swim and surf in the designated areas
• Always go out with a buddy – there will be a lot of us out there so look
around for those AccesSurf rash guards
• Avoid areas of fast-moving water or rip currents
• Never turn your back to the ocean
• Stay within your fitness and swimming capabilities. If you don't feel
comfortable, let one of the key leaders know. There are plenty of other
opportunities for you to showcase your skills/talents.

5. Safety Awareness
Safety awareness mean that a person is aware of their abilities and
understands their strengths and weaknesses within a given environment
or activity.
People with poor safely-awareness have difficulties identify their strengths
and weaknesses.

6. Let’s Meet Sarah
Sarah is a 17-year-old girl who has Autism Spectrum
Disorder. She has poor safety awareness and poor
judgment. Sarah’s dream is to surf; however, she has
never been in the ocean. Sarah believes that she
doesn't need a PFD and that she can go out alone.
How could you handle this situation? How can we
make her experience SAFE and FUN?
Click to the next slide to find out

7. How to Help Athletes Like Sarah
• Make safety 1st:
• Make sure she is wearing her PFD and leash correctly
• Work as a team:
• You can say ”Sarah I need your help catching some waves, let’s be Surfing
Buddies today" or “We are going to catch so many waves together”
• It’s a good idea to have a extra surf instructor with you
• Set realistic expectations:
• Sarah might not be able to paddle out past the break, but she could try and
paddle with a surf instructor ”Surf Buddy" on her board.

8. Attention
• Attention is another factor that can affect a person safety awareness at the
beach.
• Attention is when a person can keep their mind focused on something.
• Focus challenges are real. It doesn't mean that an athlete isn't working hard or
isn't intelligent or isn't interested in what you are saying.
• We all have difficulties paying attention at times, but at the beach and in the
water it is essential to be hyper-aware and pay attention.

9. How Attention Affects a Day at the Beach
Let's say you have an athlete that becomes confused and frustrated while
attempting to hold his surfboard and put on his leash at the same time.
Or
You have a child who starts to buckle her PFD and suddenly stops and
starts strapping on her leash, and forgets to complete and return to
buckling her PFD before going out.
These are all safety concerns due to a lack of safety awareness and
attention.
How can you help?

10. You Can Help Your Athlete With Attention
Difficulties By:
• Breaking down the task into smaller steps
• Provide verbal and visual demonstration
• Don’t just tell them how to paddle, show then how to
• Remind them to take one step at a time. Coach them through the task
• "1st we are going to buckle the PFD straps; then we will put on our leash."

11. You Can Help Your Athlete With Attention
Difficulties By:
Limiting distraction is a great way to help:
• The beach can be distracting but try and find a quiet area
• Someone with attention issues might have difficulty holding a train of thought
when they're interrupted, so give them time, let them finish their thought
• If you notice that your athlete is not paying attention out on the water, the 1st
priority isn't catching a wave, it is to "re-center” them. Get close to your
athlete, make eye contact, and repeat your plan ”First we paddle, then we will
catch ONE wave together”

12. Processing Speed
• Processing speed is highly essential for safety awareness.
• Processing speed is the pace at which you take in information, make sense of it,
and begin to respond. This information can be visual, such as letters and
numbers. It can also be auditory, such as spoken language.
• Having slow processing speed has nothing to do with how smart a person is —it
deals with how fast a person can take in and use information.

13. Problem-Solving
• Sometimes people with problem-solving difficulties can't:
• Recognize a problem exists
• Determine possible solutions
• Or how to solve it.

14. Processing Speed and Problem-Solving
• Processing Speed and Problem-Solving can go hand in hand
• The longer it takes someone to process information: such as a big wave coming
at them,
the longer it takes them to problem solve and respond to situations : such as
paddle faster or do a Turtle Roll

15. How to Help
• Less is more:
• Saying too many words at once can create challenges for someone with slow
processing speed
• Use fewer words.
• You can verbally prepare them:
• ”Here comes a big wave”
• Give simple one-step directions:
• “Paddle”

16. Memory
• Memory refers to how we store and retrieve information.
• A person with memory challenges might have trouble remembering faces,
names, who they are, where they are, why they are there or what time it is.
• You will be informed that your athlete has memory issues before you meet
them. If your athlete seems confused about their situation just kindly reminded
them, ”Mr. S you are at White Plains beach with AccesSurf."
• If you were not informed beforehand that your athlete has memory issues and
while out on the water or on the beach they display memory problems, let a Key
Leader know. This could be signs of a serious medical episode

17. Errorless Learning
Errorless learning is a technique that helps people reduce errors, which allows
them to complete the tasks accurately.
How to do Errorless learning:
• Lead by example: model the behavior you wish to see
• Provided step by step verbal and visual cues on how to complete a task
• Have your athlete recall information or complete the task (correctly) many times
• Break down the tasks into smaller steps

18. Some Conditions That Might Effect Cognition
• Stroke
• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Traumatic or Acquired brain injury
• Dementia
• Intellectual developmental disorder
• Williams syndrome
• Down syndrome
• Fragile X syndrome