Pool Safety and Swimming Lessons Advice Needed

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Excellent point. I'm an aspie and I've been a lifeguard for several years now, as well as teaching YMCA swim lessons. I've worked with kids with all kinds of special needs, as well as kids without. If you decide to pursue swim lessons, keep in mind that your son's behavior may be different with an instructor than with you... for better or worse, lol. It's amazing how much things change when Mom or Dad isn't the one talking sometimes. Also, talk to the instructor ahead of time. Be sure it's the actual instructor and not their supervisor. Make sure the instructor is patient and firm and comfortable with the situation. It's your son, you know best. Trust your gut.

Hope that helps. Just my two cents as a guard/instructor.

My son was the same way. Refused floats ect. and insisted he knew how to swim. At age 3 he jumped in and swam across the pool by himself no problem. We are always with them at the pool, and the deck has a gate that stays locked.

I had an aunt who tried to teach me to swim but I would not go in the water with her because I did not want to be held up in the water or have to hold her hands. I have issues with being touched by anybody. I learned at school when some kids were being jerks dunking the non-swimmers in the shallow end. I held onto the side gutters where I would inch across hoping not to let go out of fear of drowning. I then had to go around other people who were hanging out along the gutters forcing me to swim a little each time until I lost my fear of deep water and started swimming on my own. I loved being underwater it was like being completly alone in my own world.

I would start with a simple alarm on the doors outside. We also put chains on the doors as soon as my AS soon moved to a real bed. I could see him wanting to explore outside at 3am.

Swimming has been awesome for him. Taps into his sensory needs big time. I agree strongly that he needs swim lessons. We paid the piper for private lessons with a girl who grew up with a brother with AS, though we have also had them with just really patient instructors. The group lessons never worked, he was too much work and it was a real burden to the instructors and a disservice to the other kids in the class.

HOWEVER, once he took lessons he became MORE fearless and MORE daring in the pool. His new found confidence meant I had to watch him even closer.

2 different issues: deal with pool safety issue (sounds like you are an awesome Mom already working towards this) and second, get him in one on one lessons (my son started at about 4.5) They developed reward systems for milestones and used his fixation (animals and dinosaurs) for diving tools, games, etc.