A moment can steal a lifetime.
A single moment of distraction can change a family's life forever.
At Speech & Swim®, the Infant Swimming Resource® (ISR) program equips children with lifesaving self-rescue skills while building confidence and respect for the water.
In coastal Virginia, where pools, rivers, beaches, and waterways are part of everyday life, water safety isn't optional—it's essential.
Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children ages 1–4, but children as young as 6 months can learn to roll onto their backs, float, rest, and breathe until help arrives.
These skills provide more than peace of mind—they can provide the precious moments that save a life.
Vital Survival Skills
ISR teaches children to swim a short distance, rotate on their back to back to rest in a floating position, and then turn over to continue the sequence of swimming and floating until they reach the safety of the side of the pool or the shoreline.
Meet Your Instructor
Beckwith Hastings is a Certified Infant Swimming Resource (ISR) Instructor who is passionate about helping children become safer, more confident around the water. Through individualized, one-on-one instruction, Beck creates customized lessons that are safe, effective, and tailored to each child's developmental needs, temperament, and abilities.
Beck's journey with ISR began not as an instructor, but as a mother. When her daughter was just 14 months old, Beck enrolled her in ISR lessons with an instructor nearly an hour from home. Although she had years of experience teaching swim lessons, she was both skeptical and fascinated by ISR's self-rescue approach. Like many parents, she balanced work, caring for her four-year-old son, and postponing summer plans to make the daily drive. Looking back, she says it was one of the best decisions she has ever made.
During the third week of lessons, Beck experienced a moment she will never forget.
"As I watched my daughter roll onto her back and float independently, I became emotional. I pictured her slipping away unnoticed during a family vacation by the river, floating and calling for us instead of sinking beneath the surface. It reminded me how quickly accidents happen—not because parents don't care, but because life happens: Responding to a quick text. Another child needs attention. Forgetting something upstairs. Everyone assumes someone else is watching--These tragedies happen to loving families every single day."
That moment changed everything.
After just six weeks of ISR lessons, Beck watched her toddler confidently demonstrate lifesaving self-rescue skills. She realized she had given her daughter something far greater than swim lessons—she had given her confidence, independence, and an added layer of protection around the water.
Today, Beck is dedicated to helping other families experience that same peace of mind. She combines her expertise in child development, communication, and individualized instruction with the proven ISR methodology to teach infants and young children essential water safety and survival swimming skills. Her mission is simple: to help prevent childhood drowning while giving children the confidence to safely enjoy the water for years to come.
Because every child deserves the chance to come home safely.
