Harshita Nekkanti and Smrithi Thyagarajan, Externs
Association for Science in Autism Treatment

Introduction

water safety and autism

Photographed by Jacob Yavin (www.pexels.com)

Water safety can present unique circumstances for families with autistic children, requiring thoughtful planning, awareness, and supervision. Many autistic individuals are naturally drawn to water and may find these experiences enjoyable or calming (Carter & Koch, 2022). Because of this strong attraction, combined with potential sensory sensitivities or challenges in recognizing danger, proactive safety strategies become especially important. Drowning is the leading cause of death for children with autism, with one study reporting that autistic children are 160 times more likely to die from drowning than their neurotypical peers (Guan & Li, 2017). Additionally, a report by the National Autism Association found that 91% of deaths in children with autism who wandered were due to drowning (Mcilwain & Fournier, 2012).

The following compilation of resources provides practical tools and guidance to assist caregivers in understanding the risks associated with accessing pools, lakes, and other water bodies and in developing safety plans tailored to autistic children’s unique needs. Learning from these resources can create a safer environment and promote your child’s well-being near water.

Resources for Families (Print Materials):

    • Water Safety – Drowning Prevention | National Autism Association. This guide provides crucial information on water safety and drowning prevention strategies specifically tailored to the dangers faced by children with autism. In addition to offering specific actionable strategies like social storytelling and visual aids to support children with disabilities, the guide offers helpful guidance on early swimming lessons, supervision tips, and wandering prevention. It also offers families important advice on how to prevent children from wandering, which is a common concern as noted above. This is a reliable resource for establishing safer water environments at home and in the community.
    • 8 Steps for Water Safety for Autistic Children | IBCCES. This informative guide highlights the critical importance of water safety for children with autism. The article describes a methodical strategy to teaching water safety, beginning with early instructions on water regulations and progressively fostering comfort and self-assurance through specialized training. The certification for swim instructors who are aware of sensory sensitivity and can modify swimming instruction accordingly are emphasized in the guide. Lastly, at the bottom of their home page, there is a list of water parks and resorts throughout the U.S. that have received autism-friendly certification and support a secure and encouraging setting for families organizing water-related activities.
    • Drowning Prevention | Autism Society Florida. Families can use this useful resource to address water safety issues that autistic children experience, like roaming and sensory sensitivity. It provides 12 practical suggestions (page1/ page 2) for parents, including signing up children for swim classes that are suited to their learning preferences, teaching safety procedures with visual aids, keeping children from straying past obstacles and alarms, and dressing in bright swimwear for helpful safety monitoring. Additionally, the website mentions its collaborative efforts with the HollyRod Foundation to develop a children’s book that addresses water safety. By using these techniques, families may lower the hazards during the summer and beyond while helping their children enjoy aquatic activities safely.
    • 10 Essential Water Safety Tips for Children with Autism | Full Spectrum ABA. For families and caregivers, this handbook provides essential information on how to keep children safe near water. It draws attention to the elevated risk of drowning and emphasizes how crucial it is to have close supervision, take specialized swim instruction, and establish secure living spaces. Learning CPR, employing visual aids, establishing clear guidelines, donning life jackets, and using other appropriate safety equipment is also emphasized in the guide. To minimize mishaps and keep children safe, other tips include 4 steps for controlling water anxiety and making sure all caregivers adhere to the same safety procedures.
    • Keeping Kids with Autism Safe in the Pool | Behavioral Innovations. This useful manual gives parents important tips on how to keep autistic children safe around swimming pools. It emphasizes clear communication through social stories or visual timetables, swim lessons catered to the child’s needs, and ongoing monitoring by someone who is familiar with the child’s actions. Setting clear boundaries, employing flotation devices where necessary, and providing comfortable swimwear and communication tools to accommodate sensory sensitivity are all stressed in the article. Families benefit from peace of mind and a safer swimming experience, as it also encourages caregivers to be prepared to practice CPR, first aid, and safe pool departure procedures.
    • Autism Society’s Water Safety Initiative: HollyRod Foundation Collaboration | Autism Society. This collaborative initiative between the Autism Society and the HollyRod Foundation offers a comprehensive water safety resource tailored to individuals with autism. This initiative is a social narrative that, through visual images and simple language, teaches the essential water safety rules in various environments, including pools, lakes, and oceans. This resource also emphasizes the importance of staying close to a trusted adult and seeking proper assistance before entering water. This initiative reinforces the need to address the heightened risk of drowning among individuals with autism, who are 160 times more likely to face this threat. Caregivers are provided with the necessary practical tools to help both enhance safety and prevent wandering incidents and educate others about this critical issue.

Resources for Educators and Community Providers:

    • water safety for children with autism

      Photographed by Tima Miroshnichenko (www.pexels.com)

      Autism, Drowning Prevention & The Gift of Water Safety | Goldfish Swim School. This resource is especially valuable for educators and community providers who work with children with autism. Like so many of the resources highlighted above, it draws attention to the startling increase in drowning risk for children with autism. The program offered by the Goldfish Swim School was started by parents who lost their daughter to drowning and emphasizes the value of early and continuous swim instruction backed by multi-layered safety precautions like home pool security and constant adult supervision. The play-based teaching methodology of Goldfish Swim School gives teachers and other caregivers the resources they need to help youngsters develop their confidence and water safety abilities, enabling communities to lower drowning rates and keep children safer near water.

    • Empowering Safety: Autism and Drowning Prevention Strategies | Allstar. For schools and community service providers who want to help families with autistic children, this booklet is a vital resource. It lists important precautions for pool safety, including installing fences and alarms around pools, assigning responsible individuals to watch over at-risk swimmers, and signing up children for swim training tailored to their individual requirements. To address sensory sensitivity, the site suggests progressive water exposure and sensory-friendly swimwear. Children can effectively communicate their needs with the use of communication aids such as picture cards and hand signals. To prevent drowning and roaming, technology like door alarms and GPS trackers are also recommended. A few articles are linked on this website, including one from Autism Parenting Magazine that describes how teachers and providers can help families provide safe, secure aquatic experiences for autistic children by integrating education, specialized assistance, and technology.
    • Swim Safety for Individuals with Autism: Ensuring a Safe and Enjoyable Experience | Behaviors Frontier. This handbook, which is intended for educators and community providers, highlights important tactics for fostering safe, enjoyable swimming experiences for people with autism. It suggests introducing people to the sensory aspects of water gradually and reducing sensory aversions with visual aids like social storytelling and noise-canceling headphones. In aquatic environments, communication tools like graphic cards or sign language help people express themselves. Building trust and enjoyment involves teaching water awareness, paying close attention to emotions (can use an emotion chart), and moving at the person’s own pace. This resource gives teachers and other caregivers the materials they need to help autistic people learn to swim safely and successfully and moving at the person’s own pace. This tool gives teachers and other caregivers the materials they need to help autistic people learn to swim safely and successfully.

Resources for Families (Video/ Audio):

    • Swimming and Autism: Water Safety Tips | Swim Angelfish. For those who prefer to learn via video modalities, this 2-minute video provides parents and swim instructors with three essential water safety tips that are tailored toward children with autism. The summarized video showcases a young swimmer and his instructor, who demonstrates the following practical strategies to promote the need for safety, routine, and engagement in the water. The first tip emphasizes children asking for permission before entering water using effective communication, such as pointing or eye contact. The second tip focuses on helping children develop a habit of holding onto the pool wall and waiting for a verbal or physical cue before letting go of the edge. The third tip highlights the importance of teaching children to use a flotation device or rescue equipment to ensure they can respond properly in an emergency. These tips help reinforce consistency and predictability in water environments, helping children with autism stay safe and build their communication skills. Additional videos on the Swim Angelfish site showcase other essential skills.
      They also offer a downloadable Water Safety Kit.
    • Water Safety Tips for Children with Autism | News 5 Cleveland. This short news clip discusses the critical importance of water safety in children, especially those with special needs. As stated elsewhere in our compilation, it highlights the reality that drowning is a leading cause of death and is especially high risk for those with limited communication abilities. The segment also stresses the need for constant supervision around all bodies of water and encourages parents to focus on water safety education and to enroll in specialized swim lessons that teach the necessary survival skills of floating and swimming to safety. The video also promotes the use of multiple safety layers when at home to prevent accidents and serves as a vital reminder that early preparation and proactive instruction are essential to keeping children safe.

Safety Planning & Wandering Prevention Tools:

    • Water & Wandering Program | Autism Society. The Autism Society’s Water and Wondering program is a national initiative aimed at enhancing both the water safety education and training in the autism community. The program recognizes the statistics for the heightened risk of drowning, wandering, and eloping among individuals with Autism. The program provides a variety of resources such as a wandering letter, a safety checklist, an emergency identification sheet, and many additional resources for both individuals and families. Autism Society also provides social stories in both English and Spanish to help emphasize the importance of safety measures to create safer environments and reduce the incidence of water-related tragedies.
    • Autism and Wandering: How to Keep Our Loved Ones Safe | Autism Parenting Magazine. This article provides a personal perspective on the various challenges of wandering behaviors in children with autism and highlights the emotional impact this could have on families. The resource introduces the AWAARE (Autism Wandering Awareness Alerts Response and Education) collaboration, which works with popular national nonprofits such as the National Autism Association, and has helpful resources such as free, downloadable social stories, to prevent wandering incidents. To reduce the risks of wandering behavior, which can lead to accidental drowning, the article recommends implementing a Family Wandering Emergency Safety Plan and utilizing resources like the Big Red Safety Box. This piece underscores the importance of proactive measures to ensure the safety of individuals with autism.

Comprehensive Awareness Campaigns:

    • Drowning Crisis | Autism Society of Florida. This comprehensive resource by the Autism Society of Florida underscores the critical importance of water safety for individuals with autism. The resource highlights that drowning is the leading cause of death among this population and explains that most drowning cases are linked to wander or elopement. To help reduce these risks, it offers multiple safety strategies such as providing autism-specific swim lessons and making sure that caregivers are CPR trained. It also offers tip sheets for parents and swim instructors to better understand how to teach children with autism. The Autism Society of Florida also collaborates with drowning prevention task forces to improve safety policies statewide. This article is particularly helpful as it provides concrete tools for both families and swim instructors to ensure a safe swimming experience.
    • Swim and Water Safety | Autism Speaks. This resource offers comprehensive information for families and caregivers to enhance water safety for individuals with autism. It specifically emphasizes the importance of learning water safety skills at a young age and encourages families to sign up for swim lessons. The article refers to YMCA’s special needs swim instruction and Swim Angelfish’s videos for fun and interactive lessons. Additionally, it offers practical safety suggestions such as creating a neighbor alert plan and introducing visual schedules and rules to better support understanding. By focusing on proactive planning, clear communication, and effectively tailored instruction, this resource helps to ensure a safer swim experience for families.
    • Autism Awareness and Drowning Prevention Strategies | NDPA. This guide addresses the urgent need for tailored water safety strategies and outlines nine key strategies specifically designed to protect children with autism both in and out of the water. This includes specialized swim lessons for autism related challenges and gradually introducing water experiences to aid with sensory sensitivities. Additional recommendations focus on preparing children through video modeling and visual schedules and regularly reinforcing safety skills. To prevent wandering, which is a major contributor to drowning, the article advises installing an alarm and notifying neighbors of potential risks. The article specifies the Close, Constant, Capable supervision to help against this issue. This article is also available in Spanish.

A Few Takeaways

    • Prevention and close monitoring are critical as children with autism face a significantly higher risk of drowning, which is often related to wandering or sensory challenges. Heightened awareness is essential for all caregivers.
    • Consistent supervision should be combined with layered safety measures such as pool fencing and alarms form the foundation of effective prevention.
    • Specialized swim instruction is key, as swim lessons tailored to children with autism can help build water confidence and skills.
    • Practice is essential to develop proficiency in swimming skills.
    • Using visual aids, reading social stories, reviewing rules and expectations, and implementing predictable routines promote understanding and cooperation, which improves the child’s ability to remain safe in aquatic environments.
    • Staying informed and spreading awareness empowers caregivers and communities to create safer environments for individuals with autism around water.

Water can be a preferred environment for children with autism offering opportunities for joy, fitness, social connection, and an outlet for relaxation and calming. Careful monitoring, building skills, and ensuring a safe environment can make aquatic experiences both enriching and secure for the entire family.

References

Carter, B. C., & Koch, L. (2022). Swimming lessons for children with autism: Parent and teacher experiences. OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health, 43(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/15394492221143048

Guan, J., & Li, G. (2017). Injury mortality in individuals with autism. American Journal of Public Health, 107(5), 791–793. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2017.303696

Mcilwain, L., & Fournier, W. (2012). Lethal outcomes in autism-related wandering. National Autism Association. Retrieved from https://nationalautismassociation.org

Reference for this Article:

Nekkanti, H., & Thyagarajan, S. (2025). An annotated list of resources to promote water safety in individuals with autism. Science in Autism Treatment, 22(7).

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