Swimming the Length

Imma has always loved the water. From the time that she could walk, anytime she was near a body of water (a friend's pool, a lake, etc.) she would try to just walk right in. We said she thought she could "walk on water!" Of course, she couldn't, so in attempt to keep her from getting seriously hurt, we started swimming lessons at a very early age.  I believe she was almost two when we took her to her first lessons at a local high school  The first year she did just about as well as any two year old. It was the next year when the high school boy serving as her instructor made the comment, "I think there's something wrong with your kid." I don't think he was trying to be rude, but that was one of the first times someone other than a close friend had said anything to us about her differences, so it was a bit alarming.  We knew there were differences with Imma, but what he was referring to was her inability to follow his directions--literally inability, too, not refusal--and the fact that she continued to do her own thing, as if that was what the expectation was. You see, despite the fact that there was no way he was going to be able to teach her to swim the length of the pool, as advertised, Imma was having the best time ever splashing around and walking on the bottom of the shallow end while moving her arms in a repetitive "swimming" motion. So, even though she was not learning to swim, she was learning to love the water even more.

Little Imma on the boat, pondering jumping in and going for a swim.

Imma has done swimming lessons 4 out of the last 5 years. Last year, we paid for private lessons with a very experienced teacher and I definitely think that it helped. But Imma still couldn't swim.  She was still under the illusion that she was swimming by walking and moving her arms in a breast-stroke motion.  And she would still, occasionally, just attempt to walk right into a pool, with no regard for how deep the water might be.

Imma (5) and Lucy (2) in our family swimming pool.

Whenever I talk to the parents of Imma's friends who are great swimmers, they all pretty much say the same thing. "If you want her to be a good swimmer, get her in a pool every day." Now, like most women I am not always thrilled to get into a bathing suit in public. However, I have vowed to take her to the pool several times a week this summer so that she can become a better swimmer, and because both of my girls love the water.

Imma last summer (6) taking a break from swimming in our little backyard pool.

And it seems to be working!  She is actually taking risks in the water that I've never seen before.  She's starting to coordinate her kicking (yes, kicking, not walking!) with her arms. She's not afraid to put her head under the water and most of the time she usually remembers to hold her breath. She's jumping off of the side (not just walking in) and she's even diving down to get rings off of the bottom.  She's a long way from swimming the length of the pool but she's come a long way.
Today, Lucy did a lot better, too. Normally, she stays on the steps, in the shallows, or clings to me like a baby monkey. But today, she let me pull her around by her hands and even tried to kick her feet.  She's still afraid to put her face or head in the water but at least she's getting in and trying now and not just hanging out on the sidelines.
The pool that we go to most of the time is at my gym in a neighboring town.  Occasionally we see someone we know but not very often.  One of Imma's strengths is that she just assumes that everyone is her friend. This is usually a good thing but sometimes it results in her getting her feelings hurt.  We are running into this a lot at the pool because there are groups of girls that already know each other or girls who just don't understand Imma's differences.  She wants to get in and play with the other girls and they typically have no idea how to relate to her.  Most of the time they will say a few things to her and then continue on with their group, attempting to ignore her. Imma doesn't understand when others are giving her the cold-shoulder, however, so  lot of times she will press on, which can lead to the other children getting frustrated. So far, no one has been rude to her but I'm afraid it might happen. And I know it happens when I'm not around (as is the case with all children) but I want to protect her as much as I can, like most mothers, so it's frustrating for me as well. I have tried talking to her about how to tell when other children don't want to play "right now" or they are "doing something else" but she doesn't understand what I am telling her any more than the other girls understand what she is telling them when she starts quoting a video they haven't seen. I also try inviting her to come play with me and/or Lucy but we are boring and she wants to play with the other girls.  It's difficult to know if I should just let her be and see what happens or try to protect her from getting her feelings hurt. Have any parents of special needs children been in a similar situation and, if so, what did you do?
So far, we have had a wonderful summer--full of sun and swimming. I am hopeful that, by the end of summer, Imma will finally be swimming the length of the pool!

Imma had a blast riding the dolphin in Cozumel this summer.