He is terrified of water but also loves it at the same time. He has never, ever, not-once, put his head under water. Even showers and baths are a challenge since he doesn't like water on his head.
But he LOVES to be in the water. Not at first. In the beginning, we would spend the entire half hour lesson just sitting on the steps because that's all he was comfortable with. Gradually though he has come to love it and it's one of his very favorite things to do.
Along with his newfound love comes newfound, very real and very paralyzing fears. I don't think he has the awareness to know when water is safe or when it gets too deep. And he definitely doesn't know that he shouldn't go in it alone. Since we are walking distance to both a lake and a neighbor's swimming pool, this is terrifying. Don't look up the statistics about kids with Autism who drown. Trust me.
So we keep up with the lessons which to be honest sometimes feel like a waste of time. Hours and hours of him walking around the pool, playing and maybe trying a little bit of floating with a noodle. Every week. For YEARS.
But sometimes patience pays off. Just last weekend, for the first time ever, he "swam" the entire length of a pool by himself. Again, his head is above water and it doesn't look like swimming the way we think of swimming. But he is keeping himself afloat. He has learned how to stay above water. From a safety standpoint, this is HUGE progress. And hope. And just enough of a push to keep going. Week after week. Month after month. And year after year. Who knows - maybe someday he will be swimming circles around me. Take a peek - SO proud of him!
