Can Aspies usually not swim?

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Wow, Joe, it's like we are the same person. I remember falling into a pool when I was 18 months old and screaming for help. I did "learn" to swim suddenly when I was 12, but it's more of a dog-paddle. I hated putting my head under water. The pressure on my head, the sting in my eyes, and the hallow sound in my ears made gave me a meltdown. And I was teased by everyone else. Not being able to swim made me feel worthless.

I love to swim in a clean indoor or outdoor pool, but hate swimming in the sea or in lakes where there are fish and other things slithering around your feet.

When I was a kid my brother and I were sent to a community center where there were lots of kids and a big big swimming pool, and other facilities.

I didn't make any friends so all day long I'd take a pair of flippers and, swimming the backstroke, I'd go back and forth in that long pool all day...hundreds of laps every day.

It was comforting: My ears were under water most of the time...and looking up all I could see was the glorious sky.

Back and forth....back and forth back and forth, almost every clear weekday in the summer for two or three years.

I don't remember talking to many people, not even to my brother (who made lots of friends).

denny

I used to live near this great big gravel pit that had been filled with water. In the winter it would freeze over and we would sled down the hills and ice skate, but in the summer we swam in it. While I was learning to swim, a kid drowned in it and I stupidly went down and watched them pull him out (I can still see it in my head now). For a long time I thought he was haunting me, peering in my bedroom window at night, but I finally got over that and went back to the pit and learned to swim. I'm a pretty good swimmer.

Nowadays I swim 3-4 times a week, about 100 25m lengths a week. It's a great way to switch off and tune the world out.

Same here, and enjoy the water. As a year-round competitive swimmer in high school, I initially hated the sport, but over time the drills, the workouts, and the meets became so routine, wasn't so bad, in fact I was the most dramatically improving swimmer my coach had ever seen; maybe this is the recent diagnosis talking, but in hindsight the once intimidating distance events became somewhat enjoyable, the rythm of the strokes, breathing, and repetitive flip turns..often I would swim to the rythm of a song in my head. Funny thing was my personal trainer and coach both would always get on my case about kicking during the freestyle, once I was well into a race I would just twist my legs in rythm to each stroke, I think that the conventional kicking during freestyle is less synchronized in nature than what I did, and my one track mind made me revert to what felt natural during a swim.

Does it take anyone else a long time to get into the water?

I love the water and like other people said, I feel more comfortable in water than on land. But it can take me like 5 or 10 minutes to get all my body in the water. I slowly get my body wet starting with my feet and gradually working down to getting my head under the water.

Yes, I can swim.
What does it have to do with autism?

I am a mermaid. I cannot climb.

I can take a long time to get in the water if it's cold. I never really liked cold water as much since I get internally cold easily. I get cold when I ski but I don't mind that as much.

I took swimming lessons when I was quite young (under 5). I hated going under water. I remember the swim instructor requiring me to swim under her legs and her “helping” me accomplish the maneuver, by pushing me under.

When I was 5, I was involved in a boating incident (we got caught in a really bad storm) and I wouldn’t go near a pool for several years.

Eventually, my parents coaxed me to learn how to swim and arranged for private lessons. It took a while for me to discover that I could actually float. Right before I was 13, I was able to swim across a small pool.

To this day, I don’t really care for swimming. While I can tread water (barely), I remain uncomfortable in deep water (i.e. anywhere where I cannot stand). And, I do not really like going under water.

eh... I've been told I was a good swimmer I'm my youth. Tried getting back into it at the gym after doing Aquafit physiotherapy and I can't in any form.

Likely lost the ability or suffered the ageing affects of dyspraxia, not just swimming, but cycling and a lot of sports I couldn't maintain or lost due to a degeneration of balance for unknown reasons.

Only fitness ability I have now is walking with a walking pole and that's getting to be a struggle as well, I may be losing my mobility before my time.

I can swim and I learned it all by myself. I was 10 and still using life belt on swimming pool. My "friends" were having fun of me and one day took the life belt from me and told me I will get it if I bring it back and throwed it to deep part of the pool. I decided I am going to show them who is the boss and went to the water. First "step" in a place where I couldn't feel the bottom under my feet was scary but soon I realized I am able to stay on the water. So I got to the life belt, brought it to the pool border, throwed it off the pool and started to swim, while telling my "friends" to join me. I never got back to the shallow part or use the belt anymore. Staying on water when you can't feel the bottom was just too funny. Especially since my "friends" were afraid to go there.

The swimming style I learned was a butterfly - arms like frog, legs like dog. But I learned the frog style later as well. I also didn't need bottom since my first time on the deeps. I am able to keep my head and even arms overwater for a long time using only legs. I used to play waterfall this way. It was so fun. My friend was throwing a ball to me while staying at the bank and I was able to bounce it back while staying at pool deep to 2,5m for 30mins without going underwater.

Marzo I think, he is an inspiration to us all.

I am an ok swimmer. I never got into any competitive sports swimming but did learn all the basics. Back in my teenage years. I did a lot of freediving and I did get very good at it. I could never beat anyone in a race from one end of the pool to the other, in fact, I was always last. But try to take me on in a breath holding contest and I will leave you in the dust. While everyone else couldn't even do a minute, I had no problem doing 2 to 3 minutes.