Teaching water safety skills to children with autism spectrum disorder

Public health data suggest that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at a disproportionate risk of water-related accidents, including drowning. The current study evaluated the effectiveness of a behavioral intervention package consisting of verbal instructions, modeling, physical guidance, feedback, and differential reinforcement to teach three distinct in-water safety skills to three boys with ASD. The targeted skills were (a) moving toward a fixed point of safety, (b) rolling from front to back, and (c) floating on back and yelling for help. Results showed that all three participants acquired the skills. For two participants, one or two of the skills had to be broken down into subcomponents for acquisition to occur. Two participants required additional intervention components to manage mild challenging behavior in the pool. Maintenance probes revealed that the skills maintained 1 week and 1 month after teaching. The findings are discussed in the context of a broader approach to accident prevention.