Lisa Stephens writes very touching here on The Swim Brief about how outdoor swimming in the summer transforms her autistic daughter from being reclusive to ‘blossoming into a butterfly’. Someone knowing agrees immediately in the comments, as does this video from a story earlier this year. “There’s magic in the water.”

During the summer, in the sunshine, in the reflection of a clear blue pool, Kate comes alive. She lives at the pool, she cannot get enough. It’s incredible to see the transformation. It very much is like a caterpillar emerging from it’s cocoon and blossoming into a butterfly. In the water Kate is much more talkative. She uses more words to form sentences and she describes things in much more detail. She looks right at us and she’s also extremely playful. Instead of keeping to herself she commands our attention; ring around the rosie, jumping into our arms, dunking games and singing songs together….it goes on for hours. She’s connected to us, she’s with us, she is a part of us.