SWIMMER. ARTIST. EDUCATOR. They are the three words I use interchangeably, at my discretion, and when context warrants it as self-description. My combined years of experience as an artist, swimmer, educator surpasses the 50 year mark. And in 2004 I found myself having combined my years of experience as an educator and a swimmer in an unprecedented circumstance I had no previous preparation for of knowledge of. Curiosity was an innocent driving force here. What did I do?
In 2004 I began to teach children and young adults of special needs to swim. Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Delayed Development, Down’s Syndrome, Mitochondrial Disease were the most frequent cases I dealt with on a daily basis at a small yet totally functional indoor therapy pool where I had the pleasure of meeting these individuals and their family members. These children and young adults ranged in age from four to mid-teens.
It was the many cases of autism that resonated with me the most. Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD, is as its name implies, speaks of people who live with varying degrees of autism: low functioning, high-functioning, verbal, non-verbal, and so on. They also have varying degrees of social, bodily and neurological development. Because they all exist on a vast spectrum, no two cases are identical.
The individuals I had the pleasure of seeing once a week for a number of years were at first meeting as uncertain of themselves as they were of the water environment and me. Together, over a period of time they, and I forged a bond, a friendship that enabled us to learn from each other. And most importantly they learned to trust me, the water and themselves. I was their swim teacher. But it was they who taught me a great deal about what its like to live with the circumstances they live with and how they respond to and are affected by the same world that surrounds them as it does it me. Their situations challenged me to rethink and expand my role as an educator. Over a period of time we developed a most profound and at times poetic vocabulary of communication with each other. At times I would often say I am interacting with artists and poets—people who have different and expanded perceptions of the world. Neither right nor wrong, just different. And definitely not to be ignored.
I no longer have the swim lesson instructor position I speak of. I moved on but, can not, nor will not forget what happened between us. I know for a fact that i am a better person and certainly a better educator because of the time I spent with people of special needs.
“PR 230”
2008
The drawing that I chose to accompany this blog was created by me in 2008. It was inspired by a five year old boy who lives with autism, whom I worked with for several months. On more than one occasion his swim lessons included the game of finding the floating “Q's”. The “Q's” were only visible to he and I. It was our special and exclusive dialogue.
Our worlds briefly came together accidentally and by happenstance. But we had no illusions about the depth of that intersection.
