Water safety is everyone’s responsibility. For the Autism community, prevention requires understanding, preparation, and multiple layers of protection.

The Autism Society of America’s AuQUA Life program is proud to announce a new collaborative partnership with A Safe Pool, bringing together two organizations with complementary expertise and a shared commitment to preventing drowning and promoting safer experiences around water.

For many families, water safety planning begins long before a child enters a pool, visits a beach, or takes a vacation. Drowning prevention cannot rely on a single strategy. Effective water safety is built through implementing multiple proactive strategies, including active supervision, barriers, water competency, emergency preparedness, and individualized safety planning.

For Autistic individuals and their families, those safety measures may also need to account for communication differences, sensory needs, wandering or elopement risks, individual interests, and how a person interacts with and responds to water.

Bringing Expertise Together to Save Lives

AuQUA Life is grounded in the belief that Autistic individuals deserve meaningful access to aquatics throughout the lifespan, including opportunities to develop water competency, experience health and well-being, participate in community, and pursue employment and opportunity. Safety is foundational to making those opportunities possible

The Autism Society brings national expertise in Autism and safety programming, while A Safe Pool protects families by providing solutions to prevent children, pets, and vulnerable individuals from accessing a swimming pool unsupervised. Together, the organizations will work to bridge these areas of expertise and help families and communities turn safety information into actionable prevention strategies.

A Shared Commitment to the Autism Community

This collaboration reflects a shared belief that drowning prevention is strongest when organizations work together, share expertise, and make life-saving information easier to understand and access. The Autism Society and A Safe Pool will explore and develop opportunities to create and share resources that families and communities can use in their everyday lives.

The goal is not simply to raise awareness. It is to help people know what to do before an emergency happens. Together, we are working toward a future where Autistic individuals and their families have the knowledge, resources, and support they need to experience water as safely and confidently as possible.

Learn more about A Safe Pool’s Autism resources:
A Safe Pool – Autism Resources

Learn more about AuQUA Life and the Autism Society of America’s water safety initiatives:
AuQUA Life Homepage