An autistic woman has achieved her dream of becoming a swimming teacher despite facing obstacles.
Emily Gold signed up for her Level 1 swimming assistant qualification at a leisure center in Bridgwater, Somerset, but struggled to complete the course because she found speech and language difficult at times.
Discovery, a charity that supports people with autism and learning disabilities, contacted 1610 Trinity Sports and Leisure Centre, which agreed to employ Ms Gold as a trainee teacher while she learned how to take on the role. She qualified in August and now works there full-time.
“I want to be a swimming coach because it would be so much fun,” she said.
According to the National Autism Society, autism is a lifelong neurodivergent disorder and disability that affects the way people experience and interact with the world.
It is a spectrum, meaning it includes a wide range of traits or characteristics that vary from person to person.
For Emily, this meant that she sometimes struggled with speech and language and wanted to work on improving her communication skills.
To qualify, Ms Gold undertook two internships and completed training in the water and poolside.
This includes leading swimming demonstrations, providing physical support to children in the water and verbal encouragement.
Ms Gold said the children “always” enjoyed working with her and she found it “enjoyable”.
Swimming coordinator Jenny Hughes said Ms Gold was “a really good listener” [BBC]
Jenny Hughes, the centre’s swimming coordinator, is one of those who helps Ms Gold with her duties.
“She was a great listener and supportive of the children in the water,” Ms Hughes said.
“She had many teachers, not just one, so it gave her all the experiences and different types of learning,” she added.
Kirsteen Middleton is Supported Employment Coordinator at Discovery [BBC]
Discovery’s Kirsteen Middleton said the charity works to put people into gainful and “sustainable” employment.
“When Emily was training she had to complete a theory exam and we needed to break it down and use less terminology so she could pass,” she added.
“That was always our goal and we succeeded with Emily, so we’re very happy about that.”
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