Can Children With Autism Swim?

Swimming can help improve motor skills in children, more so for the ones with autism

DROWNING is among the leading causes of death for individuals with autism.  And because of this, many have wondered whether children with Autism Spectrum Disorder would have the ability to learn how to swim. The answer is yes, it can be done. We spoke with Cyrena Yong, General Manager of D Swim Academy on their special care swimmers class.

“We have launched this programme are for about two years now, and we have been receiving a lot of interest from parents. The programme will have us selecting children who have lower body issues, or simply said, those who have issues walking. As for children with autism, the parents would call us for an appointment and I will personally meet the child to see at what level of severity the autism is. This is because for some, they would also have an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) – which would make it more of a challenge because they won’t be able to focus in group classes,” explains Cyrena.

“For those with milder autism and are attending special needs school, we will place them in one of our group classes. We ensure a qualified swim instructor teaches that class. Parents of autistic children are always worried that their kid would disrupt the lesson with their screaming or having a habit of disturbing others. Instead we constantly explain to the parents that its fine as it has become part of the class’ charm.”

Not your ordinary instructor

Teaching individuals with autism and disabilities how to swim has its challenges, and requires specialist training, procedures, resources and support. That is why the swimming instructors at D Swim Academy which teaches special needs children are AUSTSWIM certified, an Australian certified licence. According to Cyrena who is an AUSTSWIM assessor, the swimming academy has of four swimming instructors – including her, who possess the licence.

Why teach kids with autism to swim?

“We have received quite of number of parents who have expressed their gratitude because his teacher at school felt that once he started his swimming lesson, his motor skills improved,” she smiles.

Swimming is an excellent activity for developing gross motor skills because it exercises the largest muscles in the body.

“We have an eight year old blind student who is already in our intermediate level. When he first joined us, his parents insisted for him to be taught privately. After a while, we advised them he would be happier in a group class because he needs friends to play with. Just two weeks in his group class and he couldn’t be happier. He is a very talented swimmer,” says Cyrena.

“There’s even a possibility for Paralympic swim champion in the future!” she giddily exclaims. — The Health

For those with milder autism and are attending special needs school, we will place them in one of our group classed. We ensure a qualified swim instructor to teach that class.”

Cyrena and her nine-year-old student. She is now able to swim independently.

Cyrena is one of the four swim instructors in DSA who holds 4 accreditation AUSTSWIM licences. These are the four accreditations:

• AUSTSWIM Teacher of Swimming and Water Safety
• AUSTSWIM Teacher of Infant and Preschool Aquatics
• AUSTSWIM Teacher of Aquatics – Access and Inclusion
• AUSTSWIM Teacher of Towards Competitive Strokes

WHEN it comes to the swimming pool, all children (and adults!) enjoy playing with toys in the water. You’ve got your classic floaties, beach balls, and buckets. Next to D Swim Academy’s swimming pool, lies a huge storage container with toys of every imaginable animal and colour, floaties, noodles and building blocks. But do you know each and every toy placed in the pool has a specific purpose and reason?

“When it comes to children with autism, they need to be shown a lot of pictures so we use toys to attract their attention. We place toy fishes underwater and ask them to go underwater and grab the fish,” explains Cyrena.

Cyrena mentions most of the toys are obtained from Australia.

A playground for the senses

“The pool for our autistic children and toddlers is like a playground! We place a lot of toys in them to catch their focus. There is a purpose to every single toy we incorporate in our swimming lesson. A noodle is used to develop their motor skills through paddling and kicking. A lot of the children, the muscles haven’t developed yet so they can hold onto a fish toy or a noodle and use their legs to kick.”

“The swim mat is for the kids who are water phobic. We get them to rest or sit on it for them to overcome their fear.”

She proceeds to show us colourful looking plastic balls and different sea animals. According to Cyrena, all these colourful balls and sea animals will be placed in different corners of the pool and the children will swim and pick them up.

Sounds like a fun way to learn swimming indeed!

Making swimming fun!