Swimming calms kids with autism
The bus pulled up to the Margaret M. Clark Aquatic Center. All of the children were extremely excited, even the new boys. They had been seeing a swimming picture on the calendar for some weeks. The older boys knew well what that meant, three weeks of swimming in the big pool. It didn’t matter that the days fell in the middle of winter. Swimming was swimming. They absolutely loved going. For "Marshall" and several other boys, it was a great activity right after all the hoopla surrounding the Christmas holidays.
As the 11 boys lined up outside the bus, the older ones knew what to do. Those that were able became role models for the younger ones. Several of the boys still had problems getting dressed and undressed. For the next several weeks, they knew they needed to finish quickly. The sooner the boys undressed, the sooner their feet would be touching the water. The boys also knew that it was worth the effort to get done fast. The teacher understood that the boys benefited from working on dressing skills as that strengthened their fine motor abilities.
As the children took off their shirts, pants, socks and shoes, the anticipation grew. Soon, the boys were all lined up to take a quick rinse and then … the rules. Of course, the children were used to rules. The rules included several picture icons such as no running, and no diving. Each of the boys sat and fidgeted. None of them dared to misbehave. To do that meant the dreaded sad face and time out from swimming. Then, it was time to get into the pool. The vast majority were ready and happy to get in. For a few, the initial excitement moved into fear, including two of the older boys. They clung tightly to the teacher and the assistants as the rest of the children entered the water.
The director of the swimming program and her staff knew how to create a perfectly paced course for the children. All of the swimming instructors have the patience of angels. Over time, they created lots of pictures so that the children could understand what they were supposed to do. Actual photographs of blowing and kicking the water into the air made the activities visually appealing. One boy, "Ian", picked up one of the photos of a stroke to help him understand what the swimming instructor wanted. He looked over at the assistant and smiled ready to go.
The aquatic center always has lots of assistants and a life guard readily available. Plus, the pool is actually able to move up and down adjusting to the height of the children. Even so, when it became time to do the back float, fear quickly developed on several of the boys faces. This year, however, many of the students were ready to start actual strokes. The boys had finally moved beyond the dog paddle to the front crawl and back stroke.
As the boys finished up their class, another group of children was getting ready to enter the pool. These children were from a life skills unit and had a mix of disabilities. One of the students hopped off his wheelchair. The young child’s legs were twisted making it impossible to walk without his hands. That wasn’t going to stop him from swimming. The boy went right into the pool ready to go swimming without any fear at all.
Swimming is a powerful calming sensory activity and it teaches lots of gross motor skills. For children with disabilities, especially within the autism spectrum, swimming can lead to better communication and better behavior. Students that are given a chance to swim during the school day return to the classroom better able to focus. The children also do much better intellectually on the work in front of them.
Studies for all children show a direct correlation between exercise and improved test scores. Unfortunately, for many children, the days of recess and swimming classes are no longer a part of the daily school curriculum. For children within the autism spectrum, sensory activities and exercise are extremely important. Activities such as swimming can help the child develop several gross motor skills and can lead to improved cognitive development.
Pamela Gross Downing, a special education teacher, can be contacted at downpamg@aol.com.
