Memphis rapper, wife creates water safety program for autistic kids
It's been two weeks since 5-year-old Kayden Nolen, with autism, disappeared from a Memphis apartment complex and was later found dead in a body of water.
Data shows children with autism are 160 times more likely to drown than the general child population.
Missing 5-year-old boy with autism found dead in pond
'And so we want to do everything we can to provide the resources to prevent this. And so that Kayden's death can be a springboard for people to get on board and understand how important aquatism, aquatics, water safety, and autism is,' said Alecia Queen Coleman, Founder and Director of Autism Advocates.
Alecia and her husband, Memphis native and rapper, Kia Shine Coleman, are the parents of a non-verbal autistic teen.
They've used their own experience to spread awareness about autism and promote water safety within the community.
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'Our plan is to be able to provide aquatic training, for water safety, adaptive water, training for safety for our autism babies,' said Kia Shine Coleman, Rapper & Actor, autism advocate.
'So that's what we'll be providing, working with the city of Memphis, as well as working with the YMCA,' said Kia Shine Coleman. 'And the schools, so we can be able to provide that at no cost for the parents and make it as easy as possible for our kids to be safe in the water because they love water and they're drawn to it.'
The Colemans will soon make their Aqua-Tism program, a water safety program for children with autism, available to Memphis Shelby County Schools' students.
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Data shows that it's common for autistic children to wander from a safe environment, which sadly, often results in drownings.
'We really want them to have the lifesaving tool of knowing what to do. So being able to keep your head above water, get to the side because they are just curious,' said Alecia Coleman.
The Colemans are working with the City of Memphis to have the Aqua-Tism program available by the summer.
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