Parents’ Perspectives of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders around Aquatic Environments

Swimming and spending time outdoors near lakes, rivers, and oceans provides therapeutic benefits for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, engaging in aquatic environments is not without risks for children with ASD. Drowning is a top cause of mortality for children with ASD. We investigated the experiences of parents of children with ASD around aquatic environments to understand: the benefits of swimming and being in aquatic environments for children with ASD and their families, features of aquatic environments that serve as facilitators to access, and the barriers to accessing aquatic environments. Guided by phenomenology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents of children with ASD (N=12). Four themes emerged from the findings of this study: safety is the priority, attraction to water, acceptance of children with ASD in aquatic environments, and therapeutic benefits of water. While there are many positives to children with ASD engaging in water activities, families with ASD experience several barriers that limit access to water environments. Recommendations for therapeutic recreation practice and future research are provided. These findings support stakeholders of aquatic environments, therapeutic recreation professionals, and others seeking to increase safety for children with ASD to create reduced-risk aquatic environments.