Yesterday at 10 p.m. I posted the question "Does your child with autism swim?" on the Autism at About Dot Com Facebook page. This morning, I woke up to 23 enthusiastic YESes!
I had posted the question because we'd just come back from the beach - one of our son's favorite spots. But I've also heard and read, over and over, about how much people on the spectrum typically enjoy the water.
Why are autism and water such a great match?
Maybe it's the sensory pleasure of being wholly surrounded by something that pushes back. Maybe it's it's the freedom of motion. Maybe it's the fact that parents tend to let their kids with autism take a break from therapy and do their own thing when they're in the pool, lake or ocean. Or perhaps it's because, underwater, noise disappears and vision softens.
Whatever the reasons, swimming is a great sport... a terrific socializing opportunity... and a wonderful match for an awful lot of people on the spectrum.
Is your child with autism a swimmer? Any hints or tips for getting kids with autism safely into the water?
My son is almost 7 and even though we’ve put him in swimming lessons every summer since he was 3, he hasn’t learnt how to swim yet. He doesn’t seem interested in more than just playing on the shallow part of the pool or, at the most, submerging to reach a toy. He gets panicked when we suggest floating, for instance. So it’s hard. However I know other autistic children who are more severely disabled and are very into swimming. So it just depends. In my son’s case it’s mostly a matter of conquering the fear.
Chris won’t go in the water without his swim mask. It keeps the water out of his nose, and lets him explore that wondrous landscape of tile and grout at the bottom of the pool. He stays under for 30 seconds at a time.
Last summer he finally passed the swim test at summer camp. That gave him raft privileges.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGKTkhPPPS0
My 8 yr, old son goes swimming every Thurs. at his year-round school. He loves watching the other kids, but he won’t get in the water. Last week, he let his teacher run water over his feet. Now, when he is at home, my son LOVES taking baths. Every time he sees me cleaning out the tub, he is buck naked waiting to get in. Its confusing but I have faith. One day, my son will sit near the pool and dangle his feet.
Our son loves the water but objected very much to the pools that are (I think) more chlorine than water – even I did not like the smell so I do not blame him for not liking the swim lessons, the environment was objectionable and for good reason. We took him to lakes and ocean beaches and with a life jacket taught him the arms and leg movements with repeated trials and hand over hand. It is still a work in progress but with the life jacket on we do not have to panic if he jumps ahead of us. We will probably get there by the end of the summer (started in Jan with pool lessons, postponed to summer for beach weather). It is important to try and teach swimming if possible since this is the number one cause of death for accidental deaths by those with ASD.
I think the enjoyment comes for our son in the same way as it does for typical children – it is fun! We often try to figure out everything in the context of the condition but for many things the reasoning does not get determined by the condition.
My son w/ Aspergers LOVES water, but often it is also the very thing that gets him into trouble. He gets so happy/ hyper about being in the water that he forgets about safety and his listening skills. We often have to avoid water play unless he’s one on one so that we can control him better or set better boundries. He needs all of our attention during water play and then he needs some time afterwords to re-set his sensory system and calm himself down. On one hand it can have a calming effect but for some it has the opposite effect. Our son gets so excited he starts flapping. We have to watch him carefully and often tantrums follow.
We used a coast guard approved vest until he was six, now he is a strong swimmer, however, he is still at risk because he doesn’t always follow instructions. Going out too far in the ocean, not getting out of the pool,even with the lifeguard blowing the whistle are things I have to work on. Sadly ,my little asthmatic is not learning to swim, he’s behind his brother in learning a few physical skills, he just learned to ride a trike, he’s six. My unvaccinated two and a half year old, of course, rides a trike, has no fear of water, and talks better than the six year old, leaving the six year old with “other” issues now, not feeling big. The baby is the pride and joy of his asd brother, the six year old needs more attention now than anyone in the house, he’s feeling pretty down.
btw, I have a pool, use chlorine, and that “strong smell” is indicative of chlorination problems, it’s not the chlorine that’s working, when ya’ smell that smell, chances are the pool is dirty and needs to be shocked.
My son has always loved water. The only time he ever hand flapped was in the bathroom sink. Water was a stim for my son, baths before bed was a big mistake, wound him right up. We took him to a lake once when he was about 3. He sat down and the water went over his head and he never made an effort to get up. It was horribly scary he didn’t have that reflex. Not sure about the attraction to water, but swiming provides that full body pressure for that pressure seeker.
and he’s a better swimmer than I am. I just put up video’s of him and his newest trick on FB. He can do 6 summersaults in a row now.
In 2006 we decided to get a huge pool, and my son needed swim lessons. He threw a fit the whole night before that he wasn’t going and the first day of lessons, you could actually see him shaking with fear. It wasn’t as scary as he thought
I’d suggest lessons witht he child being the only student. 1:1 worked the best for my son. I took my sons love for water and had him learn safety based of that.
Some swim schools have private special needs classes with a 1:1 or 1:2 teacher/student ratios. Parents are asked to be present if their child cannot follow directions and there’s a 1:2 (or more) ratio. SwimKids USA has been wonderful for my mildly ASD son. He has developed coordination, independence, confidence, and water safety skills!
My granson could stay in our pool forever! He can stay under water longer then anyone I know. If my daughter drives him down the street a couple of blocks away from our location he starts crying. He gets up in the morning finds his trunks and gives them to my daughter. Any vacation has to include a pool and if it’s in a cold climate there has to be an indoor pool.
Our Lance loves the water, but youve got trouble if you try and wash his hair. He has no comprehension of the fact that you cant breathe underwater but persists in his love for the good old H20!
My son is severe autistic
he is 13 and loves swimimg
only with lifejacket
he is not interested in learning how to swim
he freaks out if you try
otherwise he is happier than a fish !
Having a pool was a great decision!
My son loves swimming. He learned swimming at age 3. He’s now 12. He moves freely in the water.
My son is almost 7 years old and he is highly functional. He LOVES swimming. Since January he has been taking swimming lessons with a private teacher and during the summer he has been going, for the first time at a daycamp, where they teach the kids to swim. He is very good but because of his autism, he sometimes gets into those emotional fits, so it is harder for the teacher to teach him properly. One thing we did, we bought for the swimming pool an alarm that rings extremely loud, just in case he gets into the swimming pool without supervision, even though he knows how to swim.
My 3 year old son Max has pdd nos and he loves the water!!! It doesn’t matter if its the lake, pool, or bath tub he loves being in the water. Last summer we took him to a waterpark, and we weren’t sure how he would do since when we took him to parks he wouldn’t play on any of the equitment, but at the water-park he came out of his shell and he loved it. He played non stop, climbing jumping, and splashing. He even interacted with his brother and sister, it was an awesome time for him. I think swimming and autism do go together. Its a great way for them get some freedom
My son is 10, with asperger’s and has always loved the water. He goes to our village pool everyday and often twice a day. Even with a nasty summer flu with a fever of 102 he wanted to swim. He finds one or two kids around his age, that show the classic “in my own little world” hand gestures and they form a “swimming” world together. he has always resisted swim “lessons” and has in his own time taught himself to swim (in his own way). Water is the only “clean” thing he can find that he will allow on his hands. He still begs for a bath, just to go to his “tubby time” happy place. Besides being able to spend hours going in circles like a gazelle on his trampoline (water breaks are a mom-insisted must), swimming is the only other activity he will do. during the winter he will go to the YMCA and spend all his time in their pool. Swimming is definitely a plus for an Asperger’s child. It allows a social atmosphere, without the contact. There are the occasional meltdowns, but they are definitely worth going through just to watch him have a great time! For us lessons are a waste, he will let us know what and when he wants to learn and is so proud of himself when he succeeds. Watching him find his “world” on his own is one of our guilty pleasures. There are more smiles in the pool than there ever were anywhere else. We’re so glad we discovered this with him, and enjoy watching him enjoy himself!
My 15 year old autistic nephew LOVES the water and has probably been able to swim on his own since he was 6. He is primarily non-verbal but has some sounds/words to communicate. His great grandparents had a pool and his grandparents have a hot tub that he has used from almost day one. He started with a water wings and progressed from there. He swims weekly in high school with his class.
I have a nine-year-old grandson who is severely autisitc; he does not speak & is not yet toilet trained, but he does clearly indicate non-verbally what he likes & wants, such as by taking you by the hand.
Swimming is one of the activities that he has loved for a very long time & I take him swimming regularly & he also attends a special-needs swimming class. Although he doesn’t swim in a conventional way he is very happy in the water & has always instinctually held his breath under water.
He particularly loves doing backwards & forwards sumersaults, like a dolphin & happily retrieves rings under water. He also likes to hold a ball while doing this & will retrieve it if it floats off. He is largely self-absorbed in doing these things, but he has no trouble with busy leisure pools & socially fits in easily even waiting in line, for instance, for flume rides.
He especially loves rough water, such as a wave machine, an in-pool fountain, waterfalls & spar-baths & he is very happy going down slides & flumes.
The leisure pools that work best for him are ones where he can easily take you to what he wants & he loves the showers, which he uses as a way to indicate that he has had enough!
Although he has the typical gait of tending to walk on tip-toes, he is now a sturdy walker & loves being out in all weathers, especially if it’s wet & he loves slashing in puddles!
There does seem to be a strong association between autism & a love of water & one psychological author, Joe Griffin has even expressed this as a most interesting “Water Baby Hypothesis” in his book: “Human Givens: an approach to emotional health & clear thinking”.
I tried swimming lessons with my 22 year old autistic son last summer but stopped them, because he kept swallowing the water. Are there any suggestions of how to get him to stop swallowing water?