september, 2019 | The Health
Junior
23
Can
children
with
autism
swim?
Swimming can help improve
motor skills in children, more
so for the ones with autism
D
rowning is among the
leading causes of death for
individuals with autism. And
because of this, many have
wondered whether children
with Autism Spectrum Dis-
order 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 swim-
mers 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 disor-
der (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 disturb-
ing 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 dis-
abilities how to swim has its challenges,
and requires specialist training, procedures,
resources and support. That is why the swim-
ming 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.
Cyrena and her
nine-year-old
student. She is
now able to swim
independently.
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 devel-
oping 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
Making
swimming fun!
POOL FUN: Cyrena explains the
children will be able to hold onto the
toy and practice kicking to develop
motor skills
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.”
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
Cyrena is one of
the four swim
instructors in DSA
who holds an
AUSTSWIM licence.
“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!