Special needs flotation device

A relatively thin substantially planar body board for supporting a special needs child in an aquatic environment with torso above the water and legs submerged in water, the board being provided with a cut-out adapted to circumscribe the child's waist, a first section attached to the underside of the board configured to correspond to the shape of the child's seat as made up of the buttocks to the upper thigh region of said child and adapted to permit movement of the child's legs when partially submerged in the aquatic environment, a second section extending through the cut-out and attached to the first section and configured to correspond to the shape of the child's back as extending from the upper shoulders to the waist thereof, having a width that is sufficiently narrow to permit the free movement of the arms and shoulders of the child, and having sufficient buoyancy to support the child's back when partially submerged in the aquatic environment.