Company helping autistic, nonverbal children learn to swim
A Northern Kentucky swim company is launching an annual scholarship to pay for autistic and nonverbal children to learn to swim.
By Lindsay Stone
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CINCINNATI (WLWT) — A Northern Kentucky swim company is launching an annual scholarship to pay for autistic and nonverbal children to learn to swim.
The idea started after seeing WLWT’s coverage of a West Chester boy who drowned last year, just before his seventh birthday.
Jonisa Cook’s 6-year-old son, Joshua Al-Lateef Jr., went missing last November before it was later discovered he had drowned in a pond behind their home. Joshua was autistic and nonverbal.
“He never ran to the pond, but when he told me that he was missing, that was my first thought,” Cook said.
“He has really been an angel here on earth and not on earth,” Cook said. “He’s really continued to bless us in ways that you just can’t imagine.”
After the owner of Swim Life Northern Kentucky, Eric Moore, heard about Joshua’s story, he wanted to give more children access to these lifesaving skills.
“We are focused on survival,” Moore said.
Instructors teach kids how to flip onto their backs and float. This training can be expensive for children with disabilities or autism that need one-on-one attention. But the training is critical.
“With autistic children, they’re very, very attracted to water,” Moore said. “The way it moves, the way it looks.”
But it poses a dangerous threat.
“Drowning is the number one accidental death in America for 1-4 year olds,” Moore said. “It’s number one for autistic children.”
Swim Life Northern Kentucky is launching four scholarships in Joshua’s name for children with autism to learn these skills.
“I want people to understand how important it is and that you don’t have to be scared,” Moore said.
“He continues to live on, and I’m going to continue to do what I said I was going to do and continue to help other families so they won’t have to go through this,” Cook said.
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