Meet my two young sons Gavin and James. They are 7 and 9 years old and both have autism. They have attended Rainbow Club for several years. We have had issues with absconding and lack of safety awareness with both boys.

A little over a year ago our youngest son actually managed to climb a boundary fence and get into a neighbour’s pool, fully dressed in winter clothing. I couldn’t reach him and watching him was one of the scariest moments of my life.

Thanks to his lessons at Rainbow Club, he managed to navigate himself to the edge and climb out of the pool safely. These lessons literally saved his life.

I am happy to say they both my sons have learned basic water survival skills, and are now at the stage where we are working on proper body position and breathing, while also moving their arms and legs correctly – a very hard combination for my boys and one we are very grateful to have the expertise of the Rainbow Club teachers working on.

So many autistic kids are drawn to water but are unable to learn in a group lesson (or face exclusion from mainstream classes for a variety of reasons) and most of us cannot afford private one on one lessons, as we are already paying for multiple therapies and medications. Thank you Rainbow Club.

By: Irene, mum to Gavin and James, Cherrybrook Rainbow Club

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