Note: This account only posts external research that has been approved by the NAS research team.
What is this project about?
We would like to invite you and your 10-13 year old autistic child to participate in a study evaluating a swimming lesson programme. The purpose of the study is to learn about changes in children’s swimming skills and emotional regulation after taking swimming lessons, at no cost, offered by Neurodiversity-4-Shaw, a UK-based charity offering swimming lessons to neurodivergent people.
What does taking part involve?
We will ask you basic information about you and your child in an online form. If you qualify for the study, you will be asked to complete 20-30 minutes of online surveys. You will then be scheduled to bring your child in for a 60-minute session at a pool in Somerset where researchers will describe the research and swimming instructors will provide time for your child to acclimate to the water and oversee water skills testing of 5 basic aquatic activities, such as walking and gliding in the water. We will ask you to bring your child to the pool to repeat the swim skills two more times over the next few months and you will be asked to complete 20-30 minutes of follow-up online surveys two more times as well.
Participating families will receive six weekly 30-minute swimming lessons and six weekly group open swim sessions, all at no cost. During water skills testing and swimming lessons, you will be welcome in the pool to provide support for your child.
The study will take place over the course of about 6 months between April and October, 2026.
Reimbursement
For your participation, you will receive up to £60 in gift cards (£20 after each water testing session).
If you would like to participate
By participating in this research study, you will help us better understand factors that make it easier or harder for autistic children to learn from swimming lessons. This knowledge may be used to develop strategies to make it easier for autistic children to find and participate in swimming lessons, as well as inform water safety messaging, with the aim of reducing drowning in this high-risk group.
If you would like to participate, please use this link: https://redcap.link/autism-swim-lesson-study
Contact details:
If you have any questions, please contact one of the following:
- Dr. Molly Johnson: molly.johnson2@ascension.org or
- Paul Rothery: paulrothery63@gmail.com