My son with asd goes to the Arlington YMCA. They have sweet staff who have been very willing to accommodate and work with him. He had a fear of putting his head in the water as well, and a strict teacher (at prior location) helped him get over that. He basically said 'put your head in the water or I will drop you in the deep end,' It sounds horrible, but my son responded to that after weeks of fruitless attempts . He continued to enjoy his lessons so I guess he needed that approach to get him over the hump. He was so proud of himself, yelling 'Mommy I did it!!" every time he put his head under water.

I'll also chime in for Shari Present. We used her for our SN kid and highly recommend her - she has excellent understanding of a range of issues and has a good sense of how to structure the activities for the kids to be successful. She was recommended to us by multiple OTs and STs.

Try a warm pool (very warm) such as Kids First (or is it SwimFirst?).

My SN child was 7 and could not swim yet even with lessons from Arlington county programs since he was 10months old. I was watching an instructor next to my child one day who had student after student doing advanced skills even at age 3yrs. I asked her if she had times open to teach my special needs child and she gave me her number to schedule something for him. He has taken lessons for a year now and is able to swim freestyle & backstroke, tread water, and dive in the lane pool. This has done wonders for his self-esteem. He is now a very confident swimmer. The best investment I have made for my child thus far! She teaches out of Washington Lee pool and Yorktown pool. Her contact info is: Liz Coleson lizardmac1@earthlink.net

Anonymous wrote:Backstroke is a great idea. He still has anxiety and some trust issue in the pool - even with me, and I am the one person he trusts- but we might be able to get there.

Thanks all

I'm not sure how relevant this post will be to you, but my experience as a child getting used to the pool might provide potentially useful ideas. I have anxiety, a ton of sensory issues secondary to my mild cerebral palsy, and as a child was suspected of having Asperger Syndrome (psychologists went back and forth on the diagnosis; most recent determination was that I do not have this disorder). I still don't swim well/properly due to physical challenges but now as a young adult can doggy paddle and sort of "swim" well enough to get to the side of any pool or be safe until someone who can swim well notices me if I'm somehow stuck in the deep part of a lake (thanks, uncle's boat and ridiculous prank-pulling cousins!).

For the anxiety (I was terrified of water much deeper than a bath and hated the pool due to being convinced I was definitely going to drown) what worked for me was to do everything very slowly and prove that each step was safe. I also had a lot of trouble getting used to the sensory input of swimming (cold water, pressure, the bottom of the pool or lake felt weird, too much water, splashing, etc). That didn't really improve much, I just needed lots of encouragement and numerous tries taking everything pretty slowly. I tried swimming lessons through the YMCA, which did not work at all. I kept failing out for various reasons. My family ended up teaching me themselves over the course of a few months.

I was around age 7 at the time and my physical disability was a significant factor in how I was taught to swim, but I can write a longer post about what worked for me if you think it would be helpful.

My son did Sensory Swim for 2 years - they are WONDERFUL and helped him so much. He's a fish now! He has done several sessions of small group ASD lessons through Fairfax County. They are great too, but rely on volunteers.

My son with ASD also learned with Dawn Traub in Rockville. She is calm and patient.
And he does summer swim team now!

I have to say I don't understand trying to teach him to swim without putting his head in. It seems like all you'd be doing is giving him a false sense of security and he'd still lack the necessary skills to save himself if he ever fell in or suddenly misjudged the depth of the pool and found himself under water. Or even if someone just jumps in near him and drenches his face. Just be really careful that neither one of you becomes overconfident in his skills OP.

We did lessons through Fairfax County. They have an adaptive swim class for special needs kids with small groups and volunteers in the water with each kid, and they also offer "leisure coaches" for the regular group lessons. Ours was a public school teacher who taught my child's age group, and she was awesome. Night and day difference in what we were getting out of lessons.

Backstroke is a great idea. He still has anxiety and some trust issue in the pool - even with me, and I am the one person he trusts- but we might be able to get there.

Thanks all

For safety reasons, I'd concentrate on teaching elementary backstroke. Doesn't require submerging the head, one of the easiest strokes, and you can last a long time Without tiring out.

Second getting your child used to Submerging with a mask and snorkel.

Anonymous wrote:I never put my head under water when I swim. I did put my head under water as a child, but not much (and always held my nose when I jumped in.) Isn't it possible to learn to swim without putting your head under?

For treading water and doggie paddle and back, but most no.

I never put my head under water when I swim. I did put my head under water as a child, but not much (and always held my nose when I jumped in.) Isn't it possible to learn to swim without putting your head under?

Anonymous wrote:Snorkel gear at our community pool plus swim lessons is what got my DS over the hump. We used real snorkel gear, not the dollar store type crap and he saw his friends using snorkel gear. After he got used to putting his head in the water while still being able to breathe, he was able to move to doing without snorkel gear.

This isn't a bad idea - costco has some decent ones. And, maybe a wetsuit if the water is cold.

Snorkel gear at our community pool plus swim lessons is what got my DS over the hump. We used real snorkel gear, not the dollar store type crap and he saw his friends using snorkel gear. After he got used to putting his head in the water while still being able to breathe, he was able to move to doing without snorkel gear.