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Submitted by PatientsEngage on 20 December 2020

Young Siddhartha Shakya on the autism spectrum curses the Covid pandemic for closure of all swimming pools that deprives him of his most favourite activity – swimming. His mother Purnima recounts his growing edginess and emotional flare-ups.

For 13-year-old Siddhartha on the autism spectrum disorder, Covid has been a big bore. It has snatched away his most enjoyable and exciting activity – swimming. With all pools shut since the beginning of the lockdown, he has not been able to swim for nearly 10 months now. And that has been a major cause of exasperation. His control over his emotions and anxiety has also slid backwards.

His mother Purnima details the difficult phase.

“Before the pandemic, Siddhartha used to go for swimming every day. It was part of his daily schedule. He would get all pepped up for his swimming classes and would eagerly wait for them in the evening. He would swim diligently and had become an accomplished swimmer in the last several years.

Diagnosed with autism

Siddhartha was diagnosed with autism at age four. His developmental milestones of crawling, walking, talking were all behind schedule. Later, he was also detected with attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD). He has difficulty in socialising, communicating, managing sensory overloads like noise and smell.

It was extremely difficult for him to sit in one place for more than ten minutes. He would jump, run round, scream and throw his arms and legs awkwardly. We tried to enrol him for various sports, but he lost interest in them after a few classes. We even had a trainer come home who would make him do exercises for an hour.

Adores swimming

When Siddhartha turned seven, a friend suggested we try out swimming for him. Initially, we were scared to introduce him to the water as sometimes he would fail to understand instructions being given to him. When I took him for his first class, I was a nervous. But surprisingly he became comfortable in the water quickly; it was as if he was naturally drawn to the water. Soon he started enjoying himself and become one the good students. But he was not following the techniques of the coach.

Then we enrolled him with Sagar Shanbhag, a professional swimming coach, who provides swimming programs for children with special needs. It was here that Siddhartha blossomed as a skilled swimmer. The water also proved to be therapeutic for him. We found his motor abilities and muscle coordination improve. His emotions were more in control. There were less temper outburst and irritability. We also found him to be calmer and less anxious.

Therefore, in 2019, when he was chosen to take part in the Malvan Open Sea Swimming Competition we decided to send him, despite challenges. It was the first camp of its kind where 51 children with autism would be participating and swimming in the sea. Sagar, their coach, who had taken this initiative, had said the event was aimed at providing an opportunity to the children with disabilities to develop their skills and better integrate into the society. He had seen children on the spectrum improve their speech, self-esteem and cognitive abilities with swimming.

As I had just delivered my second child, I was not able to accompany Siddhartha to Malvan. He went with his dad along with a host of other kids. It was a long train journey from Mumbai to Malvan but kids had a wonderful time. Siddhartha managed well and even won a medal at the competition. When he returned, I felt he had matured a bit in his communication and social skills.

Becomes professional model

Around the same time he joined swimming, he was approached to participate in a small fashion show. Again with great reluctance, we gave our consent. Siddhartha has restricted control over his emotions, so we were scared the noise and bright ambience of the fashion show may get him agitated. He had been throwing tantrums during practice sessions. But on the final day, he swept us off our feet with his calm and confident stage presence. He was not flustered by the noise or bright lights. He started getting trained by Alfaa – Assisted Living for Autistic Adults, a non-profit organisation. With regular training, he mastered the ramp walk. He even appeared in professional shows and even participated in several national fashion shows.

Lockdown blues

Covid has been rough for Siddhartha. Being an ADHD child, it is very difficult to confine him at home. We have been trying to set a routine for him, but it difficult as I have my 18 month son now. While the 10 odd year age gap between Siddhartha and his brother is substantial, I feel it leaves him confused about how to behave with his sibling. Sometimes, he is gentle and tender, but other times he lands up fighting with him and snatching his toys. We have to intervene and draw him aside.

We try and make him do exercises at home, but he resists and does not take us seriously. We give him puzzles to solve but he gets edgy after a while. Although he has online classes for special needs children during the day, I have to often sit with him, else he gets fidgety.

He misses his swimming classes big time. Almost, every day he asks, ‘Can I go swimming today?’ I have tried to explain to him the lockdown scenario, but he fails to grasp the full gravity. The first few months, it was easier to restrain him, but now it is getting increasing difficult. I really pray the virus disappears as quickly as it had appeared. At least then Siddhartha can resume his swimming.”

 

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