Swim and Survive Fund supporting children with Autism

Royal Life Saving WA has recently partnered with the Autism Association of WA, to fund 20 children to learn to Swim and Survive at their local Royal Life Saving Endorsed Swim School through the WA Swim and Survive Fund.

Approximately one in every 160 to one in every 100 children in Australia is diagnosed with the condition. Tragically, in the last 10 years, of all the children aged 0-14 who fatally drowned 15% had special needs. A review of drowning data indicates limited water safety awareness combined with alarming low participation levels in swimming and water safety programs are contributing factors in the over-representation of children with special needs.

The Swim and Survive fund is facilitated by Royal Life Saving Society WA and aims to increase participation in swimming and water safety education through the development of partnerships. It is an initiative created to enable swimming lessons for kids with special needs to make it more affordable for families, while breaking down barriers and facilitating participation.

We'd like to thank our endorsed swim schools for organizing and running such a successful program, and enabling children with Autism to have the chance to learn to swim and breaking down those barriers for participation.

If you'd like to learn more about the Swim and Survive program, please click below.