Published on 12, July, 2020
My 9 year old son is stressing hugely about going swimming with his school class this month.
He did it last year for two weeks - with lessons every afternoon - but found it very overwhelming and the thought of doing it again is leading to daily meltdowns.
He is worried about his head going under - it happened last time briefly once - and struggles to get himself changed and re-dressed in time as he has dyspraxia as well as autism.
The smell of chlorine and the noise of the other children in the pool also cause him a lot of anxiety.
We have tried to reassure him things will be ok and also emphasised how important it is to learn to swim but fear that forcing him to do this may prove counter-productive.
He already finds school extremely stressful and seems burnt out by this. Are we pushing too hard or would allowing him to miss lessons with a view to me teaching him over time be a mistake in the long run?
You could make use of bath-time to gradually desensitise the problem with getting the face and head under the water. In a familiar and unstressful setting, it might be easier to accomplish. I had huge problems with co-ordination in playing ball games and even now cannot reliably catch balls, but once I learned to swim, I found that the co-ordination needed for swimming strokes was quite easy. I got my 'survival' and 'life saving' badges and swam a mile at 11 years of age. Swimming remains the only physical activity that I am any good at. You might find that swimming goggles and maybe a nose clip might be helpful. Being able to see clearly underwater is a useful incentive to put your face in the water.