ESCONDIDO - With a small, water basketball game in the making, students lounging on colorful pool noodles and lots of splashing, the one-hour swim class may have looked like a pool party.

But in reality, it was a learning experience.

For the 10 adult special education students from the Escondido Union High School District's Transitions Program, the brief weekly dip in the Charles Hulme Community Pool is an opportunity to socialize and build coordination and strength.

It's the newest experience in a long list of activities that teachers in the program provide the 18- to 22-year-old special education adults who are preparing to make the jump from a life of relying on parents and guardians to independence.

"It's unbelievable the benefits that carry over," said Stacy Gaudet, whose 20-year-old son and 18-year-old daughter were in the pool. "I have seen miracles come out of this pool."

Gaudet explained that through years of swim lessons in the outdoor, 92-degree heated pool, both of her children have been able to gain use of both sides of their body and coordinate separate right and left body movements.

For many of the students - who have autism, hearing and vision impairments, and mental and developmental disabilities - Thursday's midmorning swim was just one of a handful of opportunities they have had to use a pool.

The activity was first introduced into the six-week summer program this year as a way of providing the young adults with another source of exercise and therapy as well as a refreshing reprieve from the warm summer sun.

"I think it's a cool program," said 19-year-old Josh Earp, as he rested along the edge of the pool. "I like it in the formalized (swim) because I don't know how to swim."

The summer, Earp added, is his favorite part of the program because it's about "having fun and staying cool during the heat."

Other days of the week, the students can be found doing everything from going to a mall and playing basketball in the park to learning how to use the city buses and how to cook.

"It shows them all the different things that you can do," said Charlene Marie, an instructional assistant with Transitions for the last eight years. "It shows them that there's work and there's downtime."

The program, which runs year-around, is a little bit more rigorous during the school year when students are placed into jobs at local business for four weekdays every week. The district covers each employees' hourly wage and workers' compensation.

"I love work," 20-year-old Brandon Cline said with a wide grin. "I love to work a lot."

During the school year, Cline said he jumped between jobs at a local CVS Pharmacy and a nearby Carl's Jr. The opportunity, he said, allowed him to get out on his own and make money. He said he can't wait to start again in August.

In addition to work experience and leisure time, one day of the week is always reserved for life skills education, Marie said. That way, students can develop their individual home survival skills, such as cleaning, grocery shopping and maintaining a home or apartment.

"A lot of them don't really see themselves with disabilities," she said. "The more that we can show them things that people with nondisabilities do, the more they feel that they can experience."

- Contact staff writer Shayna Chabner at (760) 740-5416 or schabner@nctimes.com.