My Family's Experience with Autism

This blog is to chronicle my family's experiences with the autism spectrum -- it is NOT indicative of any medical or diagnostic truths. There is so much information out there, much of which is presented as facts, when, in truth, they are unproven and contain unsubstantiated pieces of information. I just want everyone to know that this blog is ANECDOTAL and based on ONE FAMILY'S EXPERIENCE; it does not exist to present scientific facts (unless I specify otherwise).

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Let's Go Swimming

I have gills. At least that's what my husband tells me. As long as I can remember, I've LOVED going to the pool. I started taking swimming lessons when I was probably about 5 years old and continued for several years. I may not be the best SWIMMER, but I do love the water.

For the last few years, we have been living in a development without a pool. But our neighboring development has a pool, and they open their doors for others to pay for a membership. This past holiday weekend, I decided that we were GOING to join this pool. So, we did. And on Monday, we went there for the first time.

We really weren't sure what to expect. Well, that's not really true. We expected bedlam. Mayhem. We didn't think Rachel or Simon would like the idea of getting into their swimsuits. We didn't think they would like to get into the pool. But we have also learned never to attach ourselves to our expectations. Things often surprise us.

We were wrong. Oh, were we ever wrong. They showed us that they are definitely MY children. They went running into the water. Rachel loved to splash. Simon jumped right in, sat down and got as wet as possible and quickly as possible. All 3 kids spent time in the big pool (separately, with my help) as well as in the kiddie pool. All 3 of them LOVED it. Rachel discovered that getting wet in a pool is lots of fun. Simon seemed to already know this. And Daniel is now motivated to learn to swim as he has discovered several of his friends already know this skill.

We did run into a slight problem. While all 3 were in the kiddie pool (after they had all experienced the big pool), I took advantage of the containment and went to speak with one of the swimming coaches about swimming lessons. While talking to her, Simon discovered an open gate and ran out of the kiddie pool area and jumped right into the big pool to swim out to where I was. Now, he doesn't swim. Fortunately, where he jumped was only 3 feet deep and he's a very tall boy, so he didn't go under. And he's still excited about swimming and not afraid of the water. But we are now working to make sure that this never happens again.

It's going to be an interesting summer. Trips to the pool will be part of our days. Perhaps we will try to get them involved in swim team or, at least swimming lessons (Simon DEFINITELY needs the lessons). And I will get to enjoy spending my summer at the pool!

(most, if not all, pictures of Daniel, Rachel and Simon taken by Kevin)

2 comments:

JJMay 31, 2011 at 8:41 PM
Funny, I was just talking to Isaac's social therapist about how swimming is an amazing tool for him. It really seems to help him organize. Water is a fantastic sensory experience...hope it is fun for you this summer!
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DRS Are The BestMay 31, 2011 at 8:50 PM
JJ, I really hope so....it's an important skill to have and they all seemed to really love the experience. Rachel had trouble in the beginning because she didn't want to be "wet", but then she realized she could have fun. Nothing would stop her after that. And it gets so hot around here, we need SOMETHING!!!!! ;)
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A Little Bit About Me and My Family

Every once in a while, something happens to a family that seems to change everything, whether that change is positive, negative, or in an uncertain direction. One such thing happened to us in March 2009, when we were informed our 26 month old twins (girl/boy) were BOTH on the autism spectrum. Their older brother (nearly 4 at the time) had always been ahead of the curve for most developmental milestones, so we had never really considered that some of the delays the twins were having had anything to do with autism. Well, we were wrong. Since then we have been learning about learning techniques and doing everything we can to make sure they get any and all help they need so that they can live normal lives. This blog chronicles that journey.

The Autism Pizza

I don't know where this came from originally, but I found it on a post on Circle of Moms. It's a good explanation of how things line up on the spectrum.

1. The Crust: Lack of Social Interaction (poor eye contact, not sharing interests with you, no pointing/gesturing)

2. The Sauce: Impaired Communication (possibly no speech, poor conversation skills, repetitive language, echolalia, no make-believe play)

3. The Cheese: Stereotypical Activities & Interests (extreme routine, strong interest in certain things, stimming [flapping, atypical play, etc.] -- like spinning wheels, lining toys up, stacking, etc.)

If you have all of those things: crust, sauce, cheese, you made an Autism pizza. It might have different toppings, but you can look at it and know it's still a pizza. If your pizza doesn't have sauce, that's Aspergers's. If your pizza is missing more than that but still kind of looks like a pizza, that's PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified)