Teach Autistic Children to Swim

Autistic children often are prone to wandering, making water a particular hazard. Drowning was the leading cause of death in autistic children under 14, according to the National Autism Association. Apart from safety concerns, swimming can be an enjoyable and even therapeutic experience for autistic children. If you are the parent of an autistic child and you are not a highly skilled swimmer with water rescue training, don't attempt to teach your child to swim on your own. Hire a professional swim instructor who has experience working with special needs kids – preferably those on the spectrum.

Steps

Helping Your Child Feel Comfortable

1. Talk to the child about swimming. Use a social story to talk to your child about learning how to swim and what to expect at their swimming lesson. Social stories are an effective way to get your child accustomed to the idea of taking swimming lessons.
   • You can find examples of social stories online that you can adapt to your child's situation, or you can write your own.
   • Include each step of the process, including the days and times the child will be participating in swim lessons, where those lessons will take place, how they'll get there and back home again, and what will happen at the lessons.
   • For example, your story might start: "My name is Andy. Each Saturday I take swimming lessons at the YMCA. My mommy drives me to the YMCA in the blue car. We say hello to the person at the desk. I go to the locker room and change into my wetsuit. My mommy keeps my things for me while I go to the pool. At the pool I meet my instructor. I stand beside the pool until my instructor says I can get in the water."
   • Read the story with the child several times before the lessons begin, and answer any questions he or she might have about the process. You may want to incorporate some of those answers into the overall story.
2. Show the child photos or videos of people swimming. Use pictures to augment your social story and continue the process of getting your child used to the idea of swimming lessons.
   • Photos and videos can be particularly beneficial to children who are non-verbal or who are visual thinkers generally.
   • It can help to go to the pool where the child will be taking swimming lessons and take pictures there.
   • Take photos of all the areas where the child will need to go during the course of their lesson, including the locker or changing rooms, showers, and the pool itself.
3. Take the child to the pool. Many autistic children do better in a new environment if they're given the opportunity to become familiar with the place without any expectations. Introducing your child to the location where swim lessons will take place can help them become more comfortable.
   • How many visits you'll need depends on your child. You should have a general idea based on previous experiences in which you've taken your child to a new place.
   • Some autistic children will be fine if you simply go to the first lesson a few minutes early and give them a chance to walk around and acclimate themselves.
   • Other autistic children need several visits before they will be comfortable enough to participate in the swimming lessons.
4. Have the child observe swimming lessons. Many autistic children will benefit from having the opportunity to watch a swimming class in progress before they participate in one themselves.
   • Let the pool or swimming club know that you plan to take your child to observe lessons. Your child also may be able to meet his or her instructor and learn more about what will happen.
   • Point out activities the children in the class are doing, and when the teacher is giving instructions.
   • You also can use this opportunity to point out proper behavior around the pool, including how to walk around the pool deck and how to enter and exit the water.

Accommodating Sensory Issues

1. Eliminate unnecessary noises. Pools – especially indoor pools – can be noisy places with a lot of auditory distractions. Having private lessons in an empty pool is one way to correct this potential problem, but it may be out of reach for you financially.
   • Many swimming instructors use whistles and communicate with students in loud voices, which can be intimidating or even physically painful for the autistic child.
   • If your child has significant aural sensitivity, make sure you let the swim instructors know well in advance of the swimming lessons so they can accommodate.
   • You may encounter swimming instructors who are unwilling to accommodate for your child's sensory issues. If so, don't take your child for swimming lessons there – go somewhere else.
   • If they are unwilling to bend on these issues, they likely will be insensitive to other needs and your child may have a bad experience as a result.
2. Have the child wear a wetsuit. Many autistic children are more comfortable in the water when wearing a wetsuit, as opposed to a more traditional swimsuit. Wetsuits keep them warm and hug the body, making the child feel more secure.
   • Your child also may feel more comfortable in a wetsuit because it looks more like normal clothing, while a swimsuit may seem more like underwear.
   • Your child is only going swimming in a pool, not learning to deep-sea dive, so it's not necessary to get one of the more high-tech wetsuits.
   • You probably can find a reasonably inexpensive wetsuit at your local discount chain store, although they may only be available during the summer months.
   • Have your child wear the wetsuit around the house for awhile before the swimming lessons start, so he or she can get comfortable with it.
3. Advocate for adjustments to rules and policies. Some pools or swim clubs may require particular attire or gear for swimming lessons that your child finds uncomfortable, or that causes your child anxiety.
   • If the pool or swim club requires particular gear, such as a swim cap or goggles, make an attempt with that gear before you request an exemption from the requirement.
   • For example, you might tell the instructor "I understand that you require all students to wear goggles. My daughter is autistic and although we have introduced her to the goggles, she has an intense emotional response and reacts violently to them because they cause her pain. I would appreciate it if you allowed my daughter to participate without goggles until she has time to adjust to them."
   • Request an exemption if your child rejects the gear or has an intense response to it. If the pool or swim club is not willing to make an exception for your child, you may need to get swim lessons elsewhere.
   • Keep in mind that just because your child initially rejects the gear doesn't mean they won't warm up to it later. A lot of new things at once can be difficult for an autistic child to process.
4. Have the instructor adapt techniques to accommodate sensory issues. As the instructor teaches various strokes and swimming techniques to the class, there may be some things that your child has difficulty with specifically because of his or her sensory issues.
   • If an autistic child is struggling to learn a particular technique, despite the fact that they are doing fine with other aspects of swimming, it may be that they are trying to avoid sensory overload or discomfort.
   • For example, many autistic children have a difficult time putting their head under the water. While doggy paddling may be less efficient than other swimming strokes, it's better than nothing.
   • In the meantime, the instructor should work with the child specifically on the parts of swimming that he or she finds difficult. Find new ways to break the skill down into steps and encourage the child to proceed.
   • For example, if the child has difficulty putting their head under the water, you might start with just putting the chin under water, then just the mouth, then the mouth and nose, then just the face, until finally the child is willing to submerge their entire head.
5. Allow the child to use coping methods. Autistic children often spin in place, flap their hands, or make other repetitive movements ("stimming") to cope with sensory overload, or to calm themselves when they are feeling anxious.
   • Particularly in the swimming environment, the instructor should take care not to discourage an autistic child from stimming.
   • If your child has particular fidgets or other items that they use, get permission for them to take one or more of those items to the pool with them (provided they're waterproof). These items can serve as a comfort to your child as well.
   • Observe the classes while your child is participating. If your child's behavior gets disruptive, encourage them to leave the pool until they can calm down.
   • In some situations, you may want to seek permission to be in the pool with your child, particularly if your child is non-verbal or prone to violent outbursts.
6. Provide a quiet room for the child to take a break. Make sure there's a place at the facility where your child can go if they need to be alone and remove themselves from an overstimulating environment.
   • It doesn't necessarily have to be an entire room, but it does need to be an area where other people won't intrude.
   • You may want to bring items your child finds comforting, such as a blanket or a stuffed toy, along with you to the swim lessons so your child can have them if they need to take a break.
   • Make sure your child understands where their safe place is, and how to get there from the pool.

Communicating with Autistic Children

1. Create a routine for each lesson. Each lesson should include a warm-up and cool-down routine. These should be the same routines for every lesson and can be as simple as splashing water, kicking on the step, or blowing bubbles. Routine will help calm the child's nerves and increase confidence in completing tasks.
   • Many swimming programs designed for children with special needs include these sorts of routines as a matter of course, such as starting and ending each lesson with a song.
   • If the program itself doesn't include a routine such as this, you can create one for your child by doing specific things before and after each lesson.
2. Connect through the child's special interests. Autistic people are often very passionate about a particular object or topic of interest. Using a child’s interests may be the most important technique the instructor can use to capture and hold their attention during lessons.
   • If your child has special interests that have any connection to the water, let the child's instructor know about them so they can integrate them into the lessons.
   • Even if your child's special interests have nothing to do with water or swimming, the instructor still can connect with the child by mentioning them.
   • For example, you might tell the child's swimming instructor "If you want to engage my child, ask her to tell you about trains."
3. Demonstrate the correct technique. When teaching autistic children, it is best to avoid the "right way versus wrong way" teaching technique. One characteristic of autistic children is that they pick up many details, and sometimes struggle to sort the irrelevant ones from the relevant ones.
   • Swim instructors often demonstrate strokes to their students by saying "do this – don't do this." That sort of demonstration is confusing to an autistic child.
   • It may be more beneficial to autistic children to demonstrate the right way to perform a particular stroke or technique from more than one angle.
   • For example, the instructor might demonstrate the freestyle stroke by standing in front of the child, then from either side, and then swimming away from the child.
   • Particularly if the child is a visual thinker, seeing the stroke from all angles can help them to put the correct image in their head so they understand how to do it.
4. Provide clear and straightforward instructions. The instructor should speak clearly in a moderate tone of voice without shouting. Explain to the instructor that shouting may cause pain or confusion for your child.
   • Swimming instructions should be straightforward, without any metaphors or sarcasm, which can be confusing.
   • Many strokes involve several different steps. It may be helpful to the autistic child if the stroke is broken down into each of its constituent parts and they have the opportunity to practice each part separately before combining them together.
   • For example, it might be helpful for the child to practice the stroke with each arm individually, then practice kicks while holding onto the side of the pool, then combining the motions to move across the pool.
5. Use visual cues. Autistic children may struggle to process auditory input, so visuals help them catch all the useful information. Many autistic children are visual learners who will benefit by seeing rules, techniques, and expectations in picture format.
   • An action figure with movable arms and legs can be a good visual aid, because the figure can help demonstrate the stroke.
   • Your child can move the action figure to replicate the stroke, giving them a strong, three-dimensional visual image of what they should do.
   • Allowing the child to manipulate the action figure also engages their sense of touch, making it easier for them to understand what they're expected to do.
6. Recognize progress and achievement. Autistic children need to be told when they've met expectations and done something correctly. Even the smallest progress should be rewarded so that they're encouraged to continue.
   • Instructors should praise the child continuously and consistently when they're doing something correctly.
   • As a parent, you may want to set up a reward system for successfully completing each class. Reward the child for completing each step: changing into their swimsuit or wetsuit, approaching the pool correctly, getting in the water, participating in the class, exiting the pool correctly, showering and changing clothes to go home.
   • Avoid conditioning the reward on the child's behavior. It's unfair to withhold a reward because the child did something they couldn't control.
   • Rather, the reward should be based on completing the basic tasks involved in taking a swim lesson.

Related Articles

• Swim
• Overcome Your Fear of Learning to Swim
• Swim the Butterfly Stroke
• Teach Swim Lessons

Sources and Citations

See also

• Stay Underwater Longer
• Stay Underwater in a Swimming Pool
• Swim the Breaststroke
• Discipline an Autistic Child
• Help Autistic Children with Echolalia
• Hold Your Breath Underwater for Long Periods of Time
• Float on Your Back
• Hold Your Breath under Water
• Swim Freestyle
• Reduce Meltdowns and Tantrums in Autistic Children

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