Swimming!

Kiddo loves anything liquid. Most of the materials we use for his sensory integration program are "messy," and he is naturally drawn to anything remotely wet. However, he also likes feeling safe and grounded.

Kiddo's dad is the manager of some of the public pools and aquatic centers here in Salt Lake City, so in the summer we always go "swim." I use that term loosely to describe Kiddo's previous experiences in the water, because he'd really do anything but swim. He loves the water, but mostly he'd just sit in the same spot for hours, stimming out in the shallow end, occasionally holding his breath and submerging long enough to get his hair wet. He would scream and recoil at any attempt to bring him into deeper water.

Until this week. I don't know whether it was the new season, his growing confidence, the sensory integration, a change of mind, or a combination of these things (or something else entirely), but he let me take him into deeper waters! He held on tight, but would laugh when we jumped up in down or when I'd throw him a few feet in front of me (with a big splash!) before pulling him back up.

Then, his brother J asked if he could use one of the pool's kid floaties. DUH!!! I told him "Yes!" and to grab a small one for Kiddo as well. The one J grabbed was a little too big, and Kiddo absolutely had no interest in wearing it and put up a bit of a struggle as I tried to slip it on him, but once he was strapped in and back in the pool he had a change of heart.

I really wish I'd had my camera, because he made the best faces as he floated about, unsure of what to do with his arms and legs at first. Eventually, however, with some encouragement, he began dog paddling around the entire pool. He would slowly swim from one end to the other, and when he had finally made it to the concrete, he'd smile proudly to himself and giggle before kicking off again. :)

Peace.