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Post by Chester on Jun 27, 2006 19:14:08 GMT -5
JT started swim lessons tonight through our local YMCA. We succesfully shattered every myth that people with DS are always happy and easy going....sigh!
First of all, JT is a fish! We live on a lake and we spent the weekend out swimming and he threw a fit when we took him out of the lake. He also swims in pools frequently too. He's not afraid of water, just the opposite, way to brave.
I had Gracie through her suit on just in case. I was not at all expecting the response from JT. The 4 year olds all sat lined up on the edge of the pool and waited for their turns to work with the instructors. At first JT was thrilled, sitting and kicking his feet. When it was his turn to go to the instructor JT started crying...real tears mind you....rare to see real tears from JT. The Crying eventually lead to a full blown fit at the end of the lesson when we were leaving. I never seen a full blown fit from him before. I ended up sitting behind him and Gracie sat on the edge of the pool, and she went in once.
I did MAKE him go each time it was his turn. He was using every trick in the book to get me to leave with him, signing "shoes, eat, Gram, socks, drive, ice cream, Dad, etc." He tried snuggling with me, talking to other people around us.
I was trying to think if my typical kids were acting like what would I have done. I'm not exactly sure....theres' too many variables. JT is a the king of diversion. My gut was telling me that this was just going to be one of those times he just has to do it. But should it be?!
Dawn
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Post by Jessie on Jun 27, 2006 20:08:54 GMT -5
Geez, I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't reading about Jason!! LOL That sounds just like him. Master of Diversion, King of Avoidance. Unfortunately, I don't have any good advise for you.  We have been going through this with Jason recently in trying to get him to ride his bike (he wanted to last summer but wants nothing to do with it this summer). On one had you are thinking, well, if he doesn't want to then . . . But on the other hand, Jason needs to learn to ride his bike in my opinion. What do you think JT's issue was? Was it because it was structured? Jason is a fish also, but hates to have structured swim lessons. I guess with something that you KNOW in your heart that he likes (swimming for example), then maybe he does need to be pushed to take part in the structured lessons. Now, if it was something that you were getting the feeling he simply did not like doing, I guess that would be the determining factor for me as to keep pushing or not. Good luck! Jessie |
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Post by mommygwen on Jun 28, 2006 7:41:26 GMT -5
A few years ago, after three solid hours of begging and hounding me to go to the pool (the real incessant begging, like not sharing water with a suffering person) we finially went to the pool and Greg would not go in. I had had it and dragged him in to the pool. Another Mom took pity on this poor handicapped child, whose cruel Mommy was forcing him into the frightening water (Greg is fish, mind you) and gave him a toy. And, d**nit, it worked.
I think maybe that he could not control when we went into the water so he just wanted something he could control.
With your lake and JT's love of water. Swimming lessons are important.
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Post by Chester on Jun 28, 2006 9:16:34 GMT -5
I know, I know. Swim lessons are VERY important.
No swim lessons next week due to the fourth of July....kind of a bummer. I decided that the sports philosphy we use on the older kids is that they start something they need to finish it, so he'll continue on. (Easy for me to say that now when he isn't crying at the pool) JT prefers women to men, and the head swim instructor is a man. I do think most of the fear is from 'the stranger of a man taking him away from the edge where his Mom and Sister were'. Ideally I know it would be best if I didn't sit with him, but him sitting there without support is zero, maybe next week, we'll just try his sister sitting on the edge with him.
I am going to look into swim lessons through the outpatient therapy center too though.
Dawn
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Post by ALLISA on Jun 28, 2006 9:38:03 GMT -5
Erin , too loves water....BUT ON HER OWN TERMS.....she will go into the ocean, go into a lake. or a pool....but REFUSES to be picked up and carried in.....it's not just stubborness....it's a real fear...she shakes, cries, does anything to wiggle free.....is JT the same at the lake ?
Does he allow himself to be carried in over his head, or does he prefer to walk in the shallow part and just enjoy that ? I couldn't imagaine doing swim lessons at this point with Erin..... so sadly I have no advice to pass on.
Good Luck !
Allisa
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Post by momofrussell on Jun 28, 2006 10:43:01 GMT -5
Well, I don't know if it's true for JT but mommytogwen it sounds like you are on to something  So simple.. and yet SO TRUE!!! You know.. as a whole we try to push our kids here... I was raised with NO pushing at all... I had to push myself.. and my sis.. got left in the dust because no one pushed her and sadly.. it has effected who she is as an adult But with pushing comes limits I think.. and it's hard sometimes to find that rightness with pushing but not TOO much to harm them more then it's doing good. And depending on the child's temperment.. it can get tricky let me tell ya!!! Maybe JT was having an off day? Is he where you can reason with him or ask him what was going on? What he needs? (like if it happens again). Was it because mommy and sissy were next to him? Does he need to be first in line and not last sometimes? Good luck!!!! A. |
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Post by MB on Jun 28, 2006 10:48:16 GMT -5
We had a fish who went ballistic at private swim lessons. The instructor was a special ed teacher with 25 years of teaching swimming under his spedo. What cured the problem was:
1. Mom leaving the area.
2. Allowing him to swim to the side of the pool from the instructors arms instead of swimming to the instructor who kept backing up. The side of the pool never moves so he felt comfortable swimming there.
mb
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Post by Haleysmom on Jun 28, 2006 14:37:56 GMT -5
Haley loves the water as well so I thought it important for her to learn to swim (at 6 y/o she started asking to take surfing lessons so I felt it REALLY important for her to get lots of swimming under her bikini  ). I had her work with a one-on-one instructor for 1/2 hour each week for total about a year. This year she was on an Special Olympic swim team where they are more coaches than individual instructors. Anyway Haley loves jumping off the deck (where they dive from in races - i think that is what it is called) as long as she held her coaches hand (12 feet of water below  and one scared Momma)So toward the end of the season her coach was trying sooooooooooo hard to get Haley to jump off the deck solo - soooo countlless times the coach counts, ONE, TWO, THREE - JUMP and Miss Haley would begin to provide an ENDLESS supply as to why JUST ONE MORE TIME Stacy could help! So I keep watching this and it dawns on me - I get her coach's eye and said try On your mark, get set, GO! Can you guess??? Right into the pool - 4 TIMES - lovin' it! ;D All just by changing the WORDS! Water can be very scary. You mentioned the Sr. coach is male, maybe you can talk w/them and have a female coach work one-on-one for the first few visits? |
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Post by CC on Jun 28, 2006 23:27:24 GMT -5
Our guy just loves the water OMG he would stay in it all day long if he had his way. Swim lessons Hmmm well lets say for him the group lessons just did not work at all. He would get bored or lose interest waiting for his turn. So we tried one on one and was a bit better but now just speaking for our guy and how things work for him, is that for him it turned out to be the instructor not that they were bad BUT Chris just needs a certain type of person to work with to make it successful KWIM? So we tried different ways and different people BUT to be very honest if Chris is having an off day doesn't matter who or where just not going to be good BUT on the good days with the right person its a win win situation ;D I say don't give up yet CC ~ |
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Post by Kristin on Jun 30, 2006 23:41:35 GMT -5
I found a swimming teacher who came to our pool. She gave swim lessons to both of my kids at the same time. She would alternate between Clarice (7, DS) and Marcy (3). It gave Clarice a short rest between activities. The swimming teacher was willing to continually switch activities. We worked on feeling safe in the water. Clarice hates the hand on her stomach to hold her up. She'd rather swim a few feet by herself. For the most part, things worked out well this year. We made a bit more progress with her, but I have found that she does not progress in swimming at the same pace as other kids (just like everything else). It was good that the swimming instructor was willing to go with the flow and change activities as needed. She also took a more playful approach. They made fishie faces (held their breath), motorboat noises (blow bubbles), reaching for chocolate (touch the side of the pool), which made things more playful, and less like work.
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Post by Chester on Jul 3, 2006 21:31:54 GMT -5
After this weekend, JT can't convice me that he shouldn't be in swim lessons. The issue isn't swimming. We spent one whole day last week at the pool watching Cory and Gracie in their swim/dive meet and JT was MAD that he couldn't swim. He swam non-stop in the lake on Saturday. We went to a pool on Sunday, he was jumping in off the sides without holding onto my hands....He was floating on his back (which they did practice at swim lessons, so he was paying attention, because he wouldn't let me lay him out on his back in the water before.) He doggie paddles, he just about grew fins.
He will be going to lessons and we will work on the male instructor issue and Mom leaving the pool for starters. I do also think I will have him sit closer to the steps so he can walk down them instead of the instructor coming and "grabbing" him off the side.
Wish he could tell me what EXACTLY the issue is, but oh well, guess we'll play the guessing game for awhile. You guys have great suggestions!
Dawn
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Post by Debbie on Jul 5, 2006 19:15:06 GMT -5
I will tell you my story of swimming lesson's. I was around eight or nine when I took swimming lesson's. I know, that was probably too late to try the lesson's but I guess my Mother thought it would be better to have a structure type of lesson's. Well by then I was very afraid of the water. We did the lining up of students like they used to do along the side of the swimming pool. The teacher was young, probably early twenties or so and she probably thought she could teach any kid to get over that fear of the water. I was the one kid that waited forever to jump in the water. I just couldn't do it. She would be standing there waiting for me, trying to be patient. Her arms were alway out stretched in the water repeateding telling me she would catch me. Sometimes I would jump and sometimes I just couldn't do it.
Yes, the teacher would eventually get mad at me. Now my Mother would be sitting at some distance away in the bleacher's watching all of this. I don't remember everything, but, my Mother finally got tired of it and probably told that young teacher off about her tactics on teaching me. One time when I did jump Mom said she didn't catch me. The teacher was in front of me but did not catch me like she had said many times before. She was awful. I mean, her behavior was totally indifferent to me. Mom just had enough one time and told her to stop teaching me I guess. After that I had a different teacher whose name was Debbie too. And I liked her! She did not expect me to do what I could not do and worked on what I could do in the water. She did not ask me to jump in from the side of the pool either. I couldn't overcome the fear of water for some time. I can say that I did overcome that fear eventually. I loved swimming! I can't swim now because of circulation problems.
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We have been going through this with Jason recently in trying to get him to ride his bike (he wanted to last summer but wants nothing to do with it this summer). On one had you are thinking, well, if he doesn't want to then . . . But on the other hand, Jason needs to learn to ride his bike in my opinion.
). I had her work with a one-on-one instructor for 1/2 hour each week for total about a year. This year she was on an Special Olympic swim team where they are more coaches than individual instructors. Anyway Haley loves jumping off the deck (where they dive from in races - i think that is what it is called) as long as she held her coaches hand (12 feet of water below 
and one scared Momma)So toward the end of the season her coach was trying sooooooooooo hard to get Haley to jump off the deck solo - soooo countlless times the coach counts, ONE, TWO, THREE - JUMP and Miss Haley would begin to provide an ENDLESS supply as to why JUST ONE MORE TIME Stacy could help! So I keep watching this and it dawns on me - I get her coach's eye and said try On your mark, get set, GO! Can you guess??? Right into the pool - 4 TIMES - lovin' it! ;D All just by changing the WORDS!
