I'm thinking I might volunteer for this...

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP -- CentraState Healthcare System is hosting a free program for special- needs children that teaches the basics of scuba diving. Classes are designed to be physically and mentally therapeutic for children with conditions that affect motor and communication skills, such as autism, Down syndrome, and cerebral palsy. Classes meet once per week for six weeks at CentraState's Fitness and Wellness Center.

"Water gives these kids a freedom and empowerment over their bodies that they can't experience on land," says Stewart Snyder III, an instructor with CentraState's Health Awareness Center who teaches the class along with Ray Ruffini. Both are certified by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors -- Snyder as a master diver and Ruffini as a diving instructor -- and are affiliated with the Handicapped Scuba Association.

Classes are held in a warm- water therapy pool in the Fitness Center's Aquatic Center in the new Star and Barry Tobias Ambulatory Campus. The instructors are assisted by a team of volunteers from the Fitness Center and CentraS tate's Rehabilitation Department. Several certified divers from the community also serve as volunteers.

Students start by learning to be comfortable in the water and how to submerge their faces. From there they are taught how to handle the equipment and how to communicate via hand signals.

"This improves the students' ability to communicate and follow directions," says Richard Hillen meyer, a licensed physical therapist and rehabilitation services inpa tient supervisor, who helped bring the scuba program to CentraState. He and his wife volunteer at the classes.

"Other benefits of the program include providing the students with a special skill that most children their age don't have, strengthening their social skills by involving them in a group activity, and developing their self-confidence," says Ellen Stein, group fitness director at the Fitness and Wellness Center. Stein helped facilitate the scuba program and previously coordinated an equine therapy program for special-needs children.

The scuba program, which began in January, is about to conclude its second series of classes, with a third session scheduled to begin in mid-April. The classes are introductory, and CentraState encourages students who develop a passion for the activity to seek further training. Two graduates from the first series of classes are doing just that, according to Hillenmeyer, and have become volunteers themselves.

For more information about the special-needs scuba program, call Stein at (732) 845-9400.

CentraState Healthcare System is a nonprofit community health organization consisting of an acute- care hospital, an ambulatory campus, three senior living communities, a Family Medicine Residency Program, and a charitable foundation

I just called Ellen Stein about this program and asked if they were still looking for volunteers. Her reply was "I'm always looking for volunteers". I start this Sunday.