Not A Swimmer!

Tuesday Morning.

After dropping William off at the day care; I decided to check out the pool and see the new coach Ken. (I did not know the school hired a new coach until I talked to Ms. Angela last week; all the time I thought it was still coach Daniel like last year).

Eating croissant with cheese in the car before going in the daycare.
He loved to play with this pot even though I said “no, it’s dirty”

There was only 3 students and the middle-age coach in the pool at the time. I was just standing there and watching because I did not want to interrupt but the coach said Hi first and the conversation started to roll. In fact, it was 30 minutes conversation!

He asked, “Which William was it?” I told him he’s 5 and short. “There’s 2 William, one with Autism and the other one does not.” – “The one with Autism”, I said.

Then the coach went on talking about his background working as a case manager at RCOC; he said he knows most of the case workers at the RCOC in Tustin. He also worked as a teacher, as the “Violence Restrainer” (He’d come to the house of the violent people and if there’s sign of violence, he’d restraint that person to protect the other members of the family. He said but if there’s Behavior therapist is there, by law he is not allowed to do anything, he has to let the BT does the work, even if the violent person attacks and hurts the BT, he cannot interfere. ); and he’s willing to work for RESPITE hours during days or nights. And that he does NOT believe in ABA; he does not believe in the method of “give a coin” for the “good behaviors”.

But there’s only 1 thing he said that really sticks on my mind: William is not a swimmer! My husband Tim keeps telling me to stop sending William to Australian Swim school with lots of different reasons: itchy eyes, skin, it’s been a year and his skill is not improved, etc. I felt sad that he does not support me on this decision.

My argument is simple: William loves water, he’d stay in the pool forever and never wants to get out. Even if he’s not a fast learner in the pool, or maybe he doesn’t learn anything, who cares? he has fun, that’s what matters! I know it costs money and time, but if money can buy my son some joy, then why not? Plus, swimming is 1 of the valuable skills that a parent can give their children.

The coach Ken is the one on the right.

William started at Australian Swim school since Aug 2018 so it’s been a year now and he still does not how to swim yet. It’s only 30 minutes sessions with other 2 or 3 kids (max 4 in a class); and it’s only once a week (Sunday at 9:30 AM). So during the session, he can only have about 3 or 4 times with the instructor: 1 time to do star fish, 1 time to do back float, 1 or 2 times with the noodle; then the last 3 minutes is Play time, where they can pick the toys from the basket and play. So the fact that he does not have much time to practice and lack of concentration (he has ADHD) contribute to the slow learning process, I believe. What If I sign him up for One-on-One class, would he learn faster?

I believe one day William will be able to swim, but not only that, he’ll be a great swimmer. That certainly answers the question “Will I stop sending William to swimming school?”!

William’s Second Swim Lesson At Australian Swim School

Saturday 10:30 AM.  When we told him we were going to the pool, he kept saying “No, no”; and then kept saying “I want to go home!” thru out the 30 minutes session.  There was only William today so he had full attention from the swim instructor Anthony.  Despite the fact that he sometime cried, he did very good.  He put his face in the water and lift face up when he was out of breath.  Today he learned to swim face up: he was scared at first but toward the end of session, he was getting much better.  Seeing how he can learn so fast, we decide to let him continue the swim lessons.

Afterward, we took him to the Mc Donald per his request; he loved the playground here.

William and the instructor Anthony

Before leaving the Australian Swim School

Mc Donald playground

 

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William’s First Swim Lesson At Australian Swim School

Saturday 10:30 AM.  William liked his swim lessons at the daycare so much that I decided to sign him up for swim lessons.  After searching and asking around, I signed up at Australian Swim School in Santa Ana, which is 15 minutes driving from our house.  It’s 30 minutes per session for every Saturday; the tuition fee is $86/month.

He didn’t want to enter the door so we had to carry him; and when it’s time to get to the pool he kept saying “No, no!”.  Anthony, the instructor said he would not mind if William cries, just take him to the pool and hand William to him so I did.  William kept saying “I want to to home!” and eventually cried toward the end of the session so we took him out of the pool 10 minutes early.  To reward him we took him to Mc. Donald for some chicken nuggets and fries.

Waiting to register at Australian Swim School

Playing before leaving the swim school

Mc Donald chicken nuggets and fries for lunch

 

Swim Lessons At The Daycare

Ready to go to daycare

Tuesday morning.  Took a few pictures of the pool where William takes swim lessons every morning at 9:45 for 30 minutes.   The first few sessions Mr. Daniel sat him out because he would not listen.  On Friday, Thomas from TASKids said he heard the teachers said they had a hard time to get  William out of the pool!

The fee is $70 for a 2 weeks session; it’s 30 minutes every day.  In the morning, the teacher would change the students clothes and then take them to the pool.  Once they’re done with the session, the teacher would take them back to the room. and change their clothes.  They hang the wet clothes on the fence so that it’s ready for the next day.  On Friday, the teachers send the bag with all the clothes back to us;  So on Monday we’d bring the bag with all the necessities back to the teachers.

In the bag, I packed for William: swim suit, towel, sandals and swim diapers.

Mr. Daniel, the instructor.

Entrance to the pool, the door was not locked!

Jacuzzi next to the pool

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