Nea's instructor is very patient with her and knows her moods pretty well. Today we had to be in the big pool, which may have made everything seem very different to Nea. She played along with the instructors usual things like "big arm circles" and "kick, kick, kick", but after 15 minutes she was ready to spread her wings.
Or flippers. Whatever.
My little Aries warrior is fiercely independent. Soon into swim time Nea started yelling "NO!" every time the instructor tried to do something with her. No crying, no whining....just a simple "NO!" The instructor gets big props from me to try and figure out exactly what the issue was. And when she did, she worked with the issue perfectly.
Nea's issue is that she wanted to do it by herself. Because they were in the big pool today, Nea was wearing a little floatie pillow around her waist. She figured out she couldn't touch bottom soon enough, and she also figured out that she didn't go under either. She was thrilled.
She would put her feet up against the wall, push off saying, "3, 2 , 1 blastoff!" and back she would go!
Once she got out there, you could see the look on her face...... "uh, oh" and she reached out for the instructor. I was happy with the instructor's response, "Hey, you got out there....you come back. Swim back."
Clearly Nea was in no position to argue and she started kicking and doing "arm circles" to get herself back to the wall. The amount of energy she had to use......
And then back to the wall for a rest.
Don't think for one minute that Nea was in any danger. The instructor was very close to her and could have grabbed her in a nano-second. I was confident she was safe. But what I appreciated the most, is that she was pushed out of her comfort zone. And I also appreciated the little "cause and effect" lesson. I am a firm believer that the worst thing that you can do for my girl is coddle her and let her off the hook because of a disability. I'm not saying that she can do every single thing set in front of her because I know there will be stumbles. But I've said from the very beginning of this journey that the only limitations Nea has are the ones we (parents, friends, family, society) place on her. In her mind, she can do everything. I'd like to keep that drive and that passion alive in her. I think it will take her to places that none of us have dreamed.
Okay, I lie. I've dreamed. I saw a little girl this week who was Nea's age. The amount of talking and communicating she did floored me. Nea's delays stood out loud and clear. I'm not comparing, I'm not saying Nea is less in any way. But I'm also human and I know that the world can be cruel. I would like it if she didn't have to have her Autism to deal with on a daily basis. I would like it if she could be embraced for just being her and not have to have special things like EIP's and therapists and communication adjuncts. I'm human, and I want for my kid the same thing every other parent does.
But that is not our road, and that is not our journey. And really, there are all sorts of blessings we have been receiving that I'm not sure I would have understood otherwise. (that's probably a different post!)
Wow...where did that come from? Okay, back to swim class....
Back and forth, back and for the rest of the swim time. The only time the smile was on her face, was when she was "swimming" by herself with the encouragement of her instructor. Would I like for her to hang on to a swim bar and float on her back, kicking appropriately? Do I think that she should practice more powerful swim motions? Yes to both. But today was not that day, and the instructor knew that. And that's why she gets major props from me.
Doing the "blastoff" and swimming back to the wall seemed to give her a sense of accomplishment. Oh of course we know that she still has to learn many fundamentals. But dog-paddling is the first step in that direction.
It's been an up and down week with therapies. We are blessed with therapists and instructors who have invested time and energy into Nea's success. I can never say thank you enough!!
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