I knew that getting him in the water at an early age would be good and, maybe, he would some day be comfortable enough in the water to swim without fear. It is well known that some autistic children are somehow drawn to water, so swim lessons are imperative to keep them safe.
Each week, I've watched him learn skills and struggle with some sensory issues, but he loves the water. His swim form is interesting, so there's no expectation for him to become the next Michael Phelps.
Something happened when Peyton turned four in May. I don't exactly know what, but his swimming has really taken off!
At the beginning of the summer, Peyton refused to float on his back. I guess the sensation of the water lapping against his ears bothered him (remember those sensory issues I mentioned?). He also really didn't like to wear goggles in the pool, though he was constantly rubbing his eyes after being under water. In June, his teacher tried to get him to wear goggles and Peyton agreed. I warned the teacher that they may not stay on very long, but they did! We bought a pair and he's been wearing them ever since!
His teachers have been working on getting him to float on his back. It's extremely important to be able to float on your back so that you can breath and stay safe while swimming. I just wasn't sure if it would ever "click" with Peyton that this was necessary, but he's been working on it and has been able to float for several seconds at a time. But today, his teacher had him work on floating for longer without being held. When it got to 15 seconds, I immediately started recording:
They've also been working on swimming across the pool, stopping midway to take breaths. He did great today:
In the past, Peyton wanted to be held when swimming the length of the pool. Or he would cut it into smaller sections and swim into the teacher's arms every few feet. But, today, I don't know what exactly clicked in his head, but THIS happened:
You can imagine how ecstatic I'm feeling today. I just had to share. :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment