Reply to NCAP Swim School – Not a good fit for neurodivergent kids

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]For god's sake, that is what I meant, PP - on the wall, holding onto the wall... [/quote]

So, what is your suggestion that the swim school can do?  You are asking them to change the rules for one child.[/quote]

I’m not asking the swim school to change the rules. The suggestion is for instructors to receive training—like those offered in programs such as the Angelfish Swim Program—that teach strategies to help neurodiverse children follow safety rules and learn how to swim.

Also, when a group includes a neurodiverse child, the instructor could have the rest of the class do a safe, simple poolside activity—like sitting by the pool and splashing their feet for younger kids or doing scissor kicks on the deck for older kids—so no one feels excluded and the class continues smoothly.

Even more, NCAP could consider adding an adaptive swim program to their class roster to better support children with different needs.
[/quote]

So you seriously expect the three to five paying students to do a "poolside activity" like splashing their feet because one student won't hold onto the wall?

Now instead of one upset parent there are three to five upset parents whose kids aren't able to stay in the water.  I am the parent who posted previously that my kid with ADHD regularly had to sit on the deck to wait his turn because he wouldn't hold onto the wall. Instead of getting mad at the staff I absolutely supported them.  I just don't get why you think it is so awful you child has to sit on the deck? It is a common thing for safety. I would rather my child do that than drown.

Sometimes feeling excluded for not following the rules isn't the worst thing. It was what it took for my son to understand to follow the rules. A lot of times he has no idea exactly what he has done wrong or what the teachers really want. A lot of life is gray area.  So this is black and white and makes sense.

A. Hold onto the wall for safety reasons.
B. Don't hold onto the wall then you sit on the deck to wait your turn.

This is beneficial not just for swim classes but anytime you go to a pool or lake or ocean. So it is a fantastic time to practice this and you have the swim instructor backing you up by saying these are the rules. Your choices are:
A. Be safe in the water
B. Get out of the water

You think it should include
C. Everyone dance around and beg and plead for safe behavior from the child and if that doesn't work no one can be in the water.

You seriously keep coming up with a gazillion reasons of what OTHER people need to be doing and ZERO reasons of what your child should be doing. You aren't doing your child any favors requiring everyone to dance around and do all these things while he isn't responsible for doing his part of being safe in the water.

Water safety is different! There are no gray areas. One study reported kids with ASD are 160 times more likely to experience nonfatal or fatal drownings. [/quote]

Just to clarify — the post you’re responding to wasn’t from the OP. I’m a different poster, and I was sharing my own experience ans opinions.

I totally agree that water safety is serious, and I respect that you supported the staff when your child had a hard time following the rules. But I’m not saying my child shouldn’t have to follow them. I’m saying that some kids — especially autistic ones — need more support to learn those rules in a way that actually sticks.

My concern is that punitive or exclusion-only approaches don’t really help autistic kids learn, at least not all of them, and can actually make things worse. Research shows that these kinds of consequences can lead to shutdowns or increased anxiety, especially when kids don’t have the tools yet to do it differently.

There’s also strong evidence that positive behavior supports are much more effective than simply removing a child from an activity and hoping the lesson sticks.

And honestly, I don’t think most parents would be upset if a poolside activity was part of the instruction. That kind of approach is still purposeful and keeps kids engaged. It’s a lot more constructive than just having them to wait passively.

Lastly, I’d just ask that you check the tone of your message. I understand this is a topic many of us feel strongly about, but speaking from frustration or judgment doesn’t move the conversation forward — especially when we’re all doing our best to advocate for our kids and keep them safe.[/quote]

Kids are there to learn swim, not waste time of what you want for pool side activities.  These are not the right classes for your kid and you need to go to private lessons or a program that offers it.  You are putting other kids at risk.  That is why other parents don’t agree.  We are all paying for our kids to swim and we want the class as is and our sn kids manage fine in them but I’d mine couldn’t I’d pull them as I did for other sports.  You don’t understand swim.  [/quote]

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