"Foreman felt an instant rush of fear and adrenaline not only because Lucas didn't know how to swim, but also because he had been diagnosed with autism, putting him in a group 160 times more likely to drown than a neurotypical child. Instinctively, he jumped in after his son. It was a raging creek I mean, he was gone, Foreman remembers. I jumped in there and was just slashing arms everywhere. I was able to grab him. I got kind of bashed up by the rocks, but I pulled him out. He's just head-to-toe drenched. I'm drenched, and slapping water out of him as he's coughing. That was scary. I mean, it was a few seconds, but it felt like minutes."
"That was 2021, and within a week, Foreman was scrambling for somewhere he could take Lucas for swim lessons or at least a program that would make his son feel confident and safe around water. He already knew that extracurricular activities for autistic children were scarce, but when he found the only existing options were far away and extremely expensive, he was determined to get something started closer to their San Jose home."
A father rescued his 4-year-old autistic son from a deceptively shallow creek after the child slipped underwater. The father immediately plunged in and pulled the drenched, coughing child out, suffering scrapes from rocks during the rescue. The child’s autism increases drowning risk dramatically, prompting urgent concern. Within a week of the incident in 2021, the father searched for swim lessons or programs to build water safety and confidence. Existing extracurricular options for autistic children were scarce, distant, and costly, motivating him to pursue a closer, more accessible solution in San Jose.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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