Swimming Lessons Give Lift of Life to Autistic Children

CONCORDVILLE, Pa. —  While getting ready for school, 6-year-old Danny Taber told his mother he was going to go off the diving board that day for the first time, a big step for a boy who’s autistic.

But when the time came, he clutched his teacher and screamed “I don’t want to, I don’t want to” over and over like a broken record. His teacher, Mike Mallee, walked behind him to the end of the board and grabbed the boy as they jumped together into the pool.

Danny, who was wearing an inner tube, seemed surprised to find himself floating safely on the surface.

All eight boys in Mallee’s class have taken the plunge. And all about as reluctantly as Danny.

The boys have varying degrees of autism, which Mallee says makes them afraid of new experiences. So while his method may seem harsh, it is the only way to get over the fear that hems them in, he said.

And it works.

Now the boys hurry out of the locker room and slip eagerly into the pool.

One of the most terrified was 6-year-old Mark Sabre, who Mallee said curled up into a fetal position when first carried into the water. Now, wearing water wings, Mark paddles around the pool and goes off the diving board alone.

With a little urging from Mallee, treading water below, the thin little boy jumped boldly off the board. He came up with a grin and shouted, “Bravo.”

Autism is a brain disorder that causes problems with motor skills and communication, which in turn affects social behavior.

Mallee, a teacher for 12 years, started the weekly swimming program in January. He has seen signs of improvement even out of the water.

“Since the swimming, everything’s taken off,” he said after a recent class. “They’re now zipping up their own jackets and they’re starting to write better.”

The swimming is strengthening the boys’ muscles and improving their coordination while “triggering something in the brain that seems to be making them more aware,” Mallee said.

They are more self-confident and relaxed, which means “not as much disruptive behavior,” Mallee said.

Parents also have noticed.

“The swimming program has made them a little more outgoing, a little more confident,” said Danny’s mother, Roberta Taber, of Springfield.