Drowning is the number one cause of accidental death in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Few studies have examined the effectiveness of swim instruction for improving water safety skills in children with moderate to severe ASD. This study examines the feasibility and effectiveness of an aquatic therapy program on water safety and social skills in children with mild to severe ASD (n = 7). Water safety skills were evaluated using the Aquatics Skills Checklist and social skills were measured using the Social Skills Improvement Scale. We provide preliminary evidence that children with ASD can improve water safety skills (p = 0.0002), which are important for drowning prevention after only 8 h of intervention. However, social skills did not respond to intervention (p = 0.6409).

This study provides evidence that grip and pinch strength are important components in developing pencil control, handwriting legibility, and independence with functional fine motor tasks.

Date Presented 03/28/20 Drowning is the number one cause of death in children with autism. OTs are uniquely positioned to develop effective water-safety interventions, but their voices has been largely absent from the literature. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of OT in the aquatic setting for improving water safety and social skills in children with autism. Primary Author and Speaker: Michele Alaniz Contributing Authors: Sheila Rosenberg, Nicole Beard, Emily Rosario

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