Local mother raises awareness for children with autism learning to swim
SAVANNAH, Ga (WSAV) — Individuals with autism are 160 times more likely to drown than those without, according to the National Autism Association.
One Savannah mom said the lack of local resources in the area makes it difficult to change that.
WSAV spoke to Heather Boatright Mims, a mother of 5-year-old Matthew and is new to the autism journey.
'A lot of times parents are walking out with a piece of paper,' Mims said. 'This is your child has autism, and then you're like, 'now what?''
Matthew was diagnosed in 2024.
'My son Matthew, a lot of autistic children have hyper fixations or things that they're really drawn to,' she told WSAV. 'My son in particular has a hyper fixation with sharks. He loves everything. sharks, ocean life. So, water really is drawn to him.'
That sparked her search for swim lessons. However, what she found was many dead ends.
'I was really surprised that there was no specific water safety lessons or swim lessons for autistic children,' Mims said. 'If there were many of them fell into a few categories, either they were very expensive, upwards of over $500. If you're talking about a family that's already, stretched thin.'
She finally found lessons through the Jewish Educational Alliance. She is calling on to city leaders and the community to step up.
'I had to find the cognitive therapy and all of those things. Most of them are things that you have to pay out of pocket for not all the insurance are contributing to them.'
She continued, 'maybe the water safety lessons should be free. Maybe we should have some type of discount or subsidy.'
National Autism Acceptance month began April 1. It is a time to promote diversity equal rights and inclusion.
'Being preventative in the autism journey is very important to parents,' said 'We're always working towards, 'what does the future look like for our children.''
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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