April is National Autism Awareness Month and water safety is an important topic for the caregivers of children and adults with Autism. Many people on the spectrum are intrigued by water, but don't understand the dangers it can hold.
Drowning is the leading cause of death for children with Autism. A child can drown in the time that it takes to answer the phone. As a swim instructor, I like to emphasize love of the water rather than gloom and doom. Still I was chilled reading those facts a few years ago when we adapted our lessons to teach children on the autism and sensory spectrums. Water safety is a key element in our program. But itâs especially important to understand why drowning is such a problem for kids with Autism and how you and your swim instructor can team up to help prevent a tragedy.
Why is drowning such a problem for children with Autism?
Children with Autism are typically attracted by the water. Splashing, seeing water drip, watching light flicker on the water is endlessly fascinating to a child who likes to be left in her own little world. Craving sensory input from the water pressure, viscosity, and turbulence, âseekersâ can dart off in a moment to get into the water. âSensory avoidersâ can fall into the water unexpectedly and have a severe panic response, making a rescue or a self-save virtually impossible. Many children on the spectrum also have no inherent sense of danger or threats, especially around water. In short, vigilance around water is paramount.
How can your swim instructor help?
A key role of the instructor is to help the child feel the cause and effect of, âIf I let go, I go under.â Swim lessons must reinforce the ritual that âWhen I swim away, I need to get to the side.â rather than âWhen I let go, someone grabs me.â Your instructor can employ specific sensory strategies for âavoidersâ like submerging to the shoulders and holding the child in a ball during activities to sooth the child with water pressure and cut out the yucky prickly feeling of the water. Both strategies can help a child stay relaxed and aware in an accidental entry and remember to get to the side. Setting up water entry rituals (âCoach walks me from the locker room, I wait by the ladder, and ask to get into the pool.â), cueing rituals (âOne, Two, Three, Go) or sequencing rituals (âFirst thisâŚthen thatâ) will reinforce safety in each lesson.    Â
What can you do?
You probably have a wealth of experience on what has been successful for your child in other environments. Share that knowledge with your swim instructor. We encourage our parents to bring their OT or PT to the pool to talk with our instructors. The better our instructors can integrate the lessons into the overall learning and development plan, the easier it is to teach skills and water safety. Watch the lessons and ask questions, so you can use the same language and gestures to reinforce safety when you are at the pool. When at the pool, designate one caregiver âlifeguardâ so eyes are always on the child. Make sure your child is always within armâs reach. Finally, consider picking up water safety resources like the Stewie the Duck CD and book to have a discussion about water safety at home, too.
Swimming and water time can have such huge benefits for children with Autism. I strongly encourage you to get your kiddo into lessons. However, we need to make safety a central part of lessons. Yes, âsafety firstâ is a clichĂŠ. However, phrases are clichĂŠ because they are important enough to repeat.
Chicago Blue Dolphins is an aquatic fitness business delivering state-of-the-art swim instruction and training programs. We have helped students as young as 6 months and as old as 78 years to love the water. Our core purpose is to help people learn and improve their lives through the sport of swimming. If you are new to swimming, weâll get you in the water and on the path to lifelong enjoyment. If you are a veteran, we can help you draw new distinctions on your technique or training to make the sport feel new and fun again!
