On hot summer days, you can find most kids splashing in a pool, but for some kids with autism, the water is a place of discomfort. Occupational Therapy students at the University of Kansas Medical Center have partnered with a local community pool to offer swim lessons for children ranging from age 4 to 17 with autism. “For us, the cold water might be uncomfortable; for them, it might be completely intolerable,” said Lisa Mische-Lawson, a KU associate professor of occupational therapy. “It’s almost like (they feel) those sensations to the extreme.”
Mische-Lawson said kids with autism spectrum disorders have sensory processing preferences that are different from others learning to swim. Some kids that attend the lessons have never been in a pool, while others just need help learning specific strokes. This partnership allows kids have instructors in the water with who understand how to work with them. “Sometimes kids come in with no experience … but by the end of it they are enjoying the water and need no support at all,” said Julie D’Adamo, a 21-year-old student applying for the graduate program. “It’s so rewarding.”