22 August 2022
Making waves: Erika wades in for kids on the spectrum
Autism Swim founder Erika Gleeson is on a mission to reduce cases of wandering and drowning.
When Port Macquarie local Erika Gleeson discovered that children on the autism spectrum were 160 times more likely to drown than their neurotypical peers, she decided to do
As an autism specialist, Erika was, at the time, flying around Australia supporting some of the nation’s most complex clients. But when she tried to arrange swimming lessons for them, no aquatic centres or instructors were willing to take them on.
“I started providing pro bono training and support to the aquatic providers so that they felt better equipped to work with individuals who had a disability,” she says. “And then word got out that support was available, and things just snowballed from there.”
Today, the charity Autism Swim, which Erika founded in 2016, provides training and certification for swimming instructors across Australia and in 24 other countries and territories. In New South Wales, it also organises Dippers – a modified Nippers and surf-education program.
The results have been astonishing.
"The progress we see is hard to put into words,” Erika says. “We’re constantly surrounded by parents that are in tears because their child is doing something that they never thought they would be able to do."
“At Dippers, for instance, we've had 16-year-olds that have never been in the ocean before and by the end of the season they are riding a board. Or we see someone who has a trauma-based response, fearful of the water, learn to love the water and engage in it safely and happily. It’s just so moving to witness that transformation.”
Drawn to water
Only some of the reasons that children on the autism spectrum are at such significant risk of drowning are understood, Erika says. A big factor is that many of them tend to wander away from their carers and are drawn towards bodies of water.
“That’s probably because, in a lot of cases, the water alleviates their sensory challenges,” she explains. “But then once they get to the water, they often have a decreased ability to perceive risk and danger, and probably aren’t particularly strong swimmers because swimming lessons haven’t gone so well for them in the past.”
An Autism Swim lesson focuses on each individual’s needs. It gets them comfortable in the water, and concentrates on water therapy and water safety before moving onto swimming.
Erika also consults with NSW Police Rescue, helping rescuers know how to find and support people on the autism spectrum who have perhaps wandered and got lost in the wilderness.
An instinctive helper since she was a child (“I was the kid at school who was asked to take new kids under my wing”), Erika feels a strong connection with people on the spectrum.
“Every day, I learn so much from the children that I work with. And
I feel very passionate about making the world far more inclusive.”
