For children with autism, swimming classes can save lives. But getting them isn’t easy.

West Palm Beach – A group of small children swayed, floating and tentatively swayed in a well-ventilated indoor pool with fish cutouts on the wall.

It looked like a starter swimming class. But here the instructor worked one-on-one or even two children. I have some cards to help children communicate with teachers by pointing instead of speaking. No one was blown away.

All students in the Small Fish Big Fish Swim School class had autism. This is a developmental disorder associated with average risks than average.

I have been worried about autism experts and parents for a long time, but recent data clearly reveals the stakes. According to the Palm Beach County Children’s Services Council, Florida, a state with abundant water from beaches to backyards, has owned more than 100 children with autism since the beginning of 2021.

The numbers highlight dilemmas that are often overlooked. Autism is often difficult to obtain swimming instruction, if necessary.

“It’s life-changing for kids with autism,” said the lovely Chrisostome, who was terrified this winter as her six-year-old son escaped from his family’s home and wandered through the lake-covered neighbourhood. She once tried to register him for swimming classes in a public pool, but he refused to enter.

However, her son was in the pool of autism-specific class of autism-specific, small fish. The instructor helped him to float on his back. When he began to show discomfort – he didn’t want his head to wet – she softened him to his side, where he seemed satisfied.

Autism affects an estimated 1 in 31 people in the United States. Their water safety has occasionally attracted the attention of the public after tragedy, such as the death of autistic teenager Avonte Oquendo, who was discovered on the New York River in 2014 after disappearing from school.

Although academic research on this issue is limited, a pair of studies in 2017 recorded a significant increase in risk of drowsing among people with autism spectrum disorder. According to co-author Dr. Guofaua Lee and other experts, risk stems from a largely straying and a tendency to underestimate the risk.

One of the 5-year-olds from Florida apparently went into her grandmother’s pool with her dog’s door wiggling. Another died on the canal after sliding through a hole in a fence at a playground specifically intended for children with autism. According to the Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County, she apparently climbed a bookcase blocking the doors of her apartment, and apparently owned to the lake. We are currently building a nationwide database.

“Swimming lessons should be first-line treatment for autism,” said Li, a Columbia University professor of epidemiology who is not involved in the council’s research. Lee herself has a son in this state.

Potential Lifesaver Lessons

Some autistic people are excellent at swimming, including New Jersey teens featured in the 2017 documentary Swimming Team. Many others are proficient in water. Michele Alaniz, a practitioner who published his research based on the Casa Colina Hospital and the Health Care Center in Pomona, California, said that even children with deep autism can master the basics of survival with just eight hours of aquatic occupational therapy.

However, some families do not sign up for classes. They fear overwhelm a child who may have symptoms, from not talking to repeatedly hitting their heads, to suffering from noise. Other young people are kicked out of programs that can’t handle them. Private sessions are helpful, but expensive.

“It’s very important to know what special needs are, how you communicate with your kids, especially how you can alleviate meltdowns in the pool, especially how you communicate in the pool, what special needs are,” says Lindsay Corey. She said her 5-year-old son, who was less absorbed from the usual swimming classes at his Lakeworth home and private lessons at home, made progress in the program along with an Autism Society-trained instructor.

As the risk of drowsing has become more focused, supporters are trying to make swimming lessons more accessible. The Australian charity, called Autism Swim, says that since 2016, 1,400 swimming teachers, physiotherapists and others have been trained online.

Fear and joy in the water

In Florida, the Palm Beach County Children’s Services Council provided $17,000 last year to train dozens of instructors to the American Autism Association, said John Burstein, who conducted a study by the Council on Autism and own death. The organization paid an additional $13,500 for Small Fish Big Fish class.

Dozens of students, ranging from around 4-8, attend nearby autism-specific charter schools. They were initially reluctant to get on the bus, let alone be in the water, organizers said. However, on an afternoon in early April they quickly headed to the shallow pool.

A girl floated on a foam board, poured her face into the water, and performed breath control exercises. Another girl smirked as she propelled herself with foam noodles.

“She’s fearless to the scary point, as she can only jump into the pool, whether she can swim or not,” said her mother, Jana D’Agostino. “So this is really important. It’s saving their lives.”

On the other side of the pool, the boy reluctantly slacked off the stairs to the water. There, Melissa Taylor, founder of Little Fish, was waiting for him. “It’s my turn!” she said, dipping her head into the water.

He did the same and then retreated down the stairs. Taylor continued working with him, but he quickly retreated out of the pool and began to move his hands. Realizing he had enough, the instructor stripped him off the towel.

“It takes a lot of time to make him trust us,” Taylor explained. But she also recognizes the excitement of the repetitive splash and movement signals, not the alarm.

The session continued for other children, including Chrisostome’s son, who appeared with a smile.

He learned a lot in the lessons, but what hit her the most?

“The happiness he has.”

Associated Press, by Jennifer Peltz