Children's Safety Zone

Summer is an extremely dangerous time for Arizona children around water, especially in swimming pools.

Drowning is the leading cause of death for children between 1 and 4 years old in the state, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. It’s an alarming statistic, but should be even more alarming to parents of autistic children.

“If (autistic children) are seeking sensory input from water, that’s particularly dangerous at this time of year,” said Christopher J. Smith of the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center in Phoenix.

Smith said autistic children are more likely to gravitate towards things that make them feel good, and water can be especially inviting.

Smith said the number of children diagnosed with autism is climbing rapidly.

“We went from one in roughly 100 to one in 88,” he said.

“We always operate under the assumption that there are many kids that are being missed,” he said.

Which means many parents might not realize the added danger their child could face around water, he said.

“I think it’s particularly dangerous for kids with autism because they may be less inhibited than other kids and they’ll have no problem going to seek something they’re interested in, even if it’s in a neighbor’s back yard,” Smith said.

Elisa Cazares-Hart wishes she had been aware of that potential danger sooner. Her autistic son, Eric, was just 2 when he drowned in a backyard pool.

“I told (Smith) it was an accidental drowning. He says well, unfortunately, autistic kids and adults are drawn to water.”

Cazares-Hart said that it took her a while to understand the attraction.

“For a while I didn’t really understand it because it was raining, it was cold – what attracted him?” she said.

Smith said educating parents of autistic children is key.

“If a gate is left open they can see a way into a pool, they’re probably going to go for it more so than any typically developing kid,” Smith said.

A 54-year-old woman has died in an apparent drowning in Chandler, police said.

The victim was identified Tuesday as Grace Hawley.

Chandler Police said Hawley’s husband called 911 around 5 p.m. Monday and told authorities his wife had drowned.

Emergency crews responded to the home near Kyrene and Ray and performed CPR. Hawley was pronounced dead at the scene.

The case is under investigation.

If a mama grizzly is formidable, then just call Cheyenne Arreola a nana grizzly.

Arreola knocked on doors last weekend to beg, plead and educate neighbors about the risks of child drowning.

Arreola, whose grandson suffered extensive brain injuries after nearly drowning at a summer camp in 2009, helped organize the city’s first annual citywide water walk with Safe Kids Tucson.

Roughly 75 volunteers knocked on doors throughout Pima County, reminding families to stay vigilant around water now that warmer weather is here. The volunteers estimated they connected with roughly 4,800 families, handing out tips to prevent child drowning. Tucson Medical Center is the lead agency for Safe Kids Tucson.

Volunteers handed out information promoting ABC’s of Water Safety, with A=Adults, B=Barriers and C=Classes.

Arreola said she not only rounded up volunteers for upcoming water safety events, but also spread the word to families who appreciated the information. “One family’s comment was that it was very timely because they were going to have a pool party that afternoon,” she said.

“It really is such an issue and it affects so many people.”

KVOA and KOLD both ran stories about the effort. To see the coverage, click the links below:
http://www.kvoa.com/news/volunteers-go-door-to-door-to-prevent-child-drownings/
http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/17304324/efforts-to-prevent-drowning-as-weather-gets-warmer

For more information about water safety, visit http://www.tmcaz.com/SafeKidsTucson or contact the Safe Kids coordinator, Yomaira Diaz, at SafeKidsTucson@tmcaz.com or 324-2959.

The drop in child-drowning deaths in Maricopa County in 2011 over the previous year has water-safety experts doing one thing: stepping up their pleas.

Sixteen children drowned in the county in 2011, compared with 20 in 2010. But the death of one child or one adult due to drowning is one too many, said Lori Schmidt, president of the Drowning Prevention Coalition of Arizona.

Tiffaney Isaacson, water-safety coordinator for Phoenix Children’s Hospital and president of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance, agrees.

“We don’t want the community to think we can stop. We always need that sense of urgency,” she said.

Firefighters, volunteers and those out to prevent drownings and near drownings are back this time of year, going door to door or holding water-safety workshops to spread the message of being careful around water.

That means being vigilant around bathtubs, pools, lakes and rivers.

It also means checking for water in landscape planters, buckets and even animal water dishes.

Those involved with the water-safety walks are handing out information for residents, hoping people will take the message to heart.

Although drowning incidents happen year-round, numbers are often highest from April through August.

Isaacson said that although drowning deaths of children in the county are down, near drownings are up. In 2010, there were 140 such incidents; last year, there were 180.

“And that’s not good,” she said.

As much as prevention efforts need to be made for children, she urges safety for teens and adults as well.

Schmidt, a public-education officer for Scottsdale, said that’s been a focus in her city, which had nine drownings in 2011: one teenager and eight adults.

On Saturday, Schmidt was in Scottsdale helping to organize a local Walk for Water Safety, a partnership between Valley fire departments and Cardon Children’s Medical Center in Mesa. The hospital has given tens of thousands of informational door hangers and wrist tags so communities across the state can distribute them to residents.

Tracey Fejt, injury-prevention coordinator at Cardon, said this year’s walk expanded to other parts of the state, including Tucson, Yuma and Casa Grande.

Schmidt said drowning prevention goes on throughout the year but residents may notice an increase during spring.

“We know that the end of March is when people start thinking it’s warm enough to get in (and swim), so we see a big push in prevention now through early April,” she said.

Having observed the careless actions of adults around water is something that drove Tina and Jan Bech out into the streets Saturday to talk to residents and leave door hangers about prevention.

“I can’t believe parents leave their young children unattended in pools and the hot tub,” said Tina, a volunteer with the Scottsdale Fire Department. “I’ve seen it several times.”

Who says there’s nothing good on TV anymore? A young brother and sister used what they learned on TV to save the life of their 2-year-old cousin.

At their Phoenix home Tuesday, 11-year-old Keanu Moreno and his 9-year-old sister, Demi found their little cousin at the bottom of their pool in the backyard. The toddler was drowning.

“I dived in and I got him and I put him right on my shoulder,” Keanu said. “Then I swam to the top and put him on the floor.”

Keanu and Dime’s cousin, 2-year-old Alessandro had snuck outside an open door when no one was looking.

Laying unconscious on the ground near the pool, Alessandro’s skin had turned purple. He was not breathing and Dime said his eyes were wide-open.

“I was really scared,” Keanu said. “I thought he was dead. I really did, but I wanted him to be alive.”

“I was saying, God please help him. Please don’t let him die,” Demi recalled.

Thinking back to what they had watched on the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, Demi and Keanu jumped into action. Demi dialed 911 while big brother Keanu started CPR.

“I blew into his mouth, and then I went like this really, really hard,” Keanu said demonstrating how he performed the chest compressions on Alessandro. “He started throwing up all of that stuff.”

Keanu said he only had to do CPR for “about 10 seconds,” but because of how scared he was, “it felt like 20 minutes.”

An ambulance soon arrived and took Alessandro to the hospital where paramedics say he is doing just fine.

The children were being supervised by older teenage relatives at the time.

Ironically, Tuesday was the start of “Water Safety Day” in the Valley.

Captain Scott McDonald of the Phoenix Fire Department said the close call at the Moreno’s house was a fitting kick-off, and a reminder of the importance of keeping watch over children when there is a pool nearby.

“We have an incredible outcome to what could have been a very devastating, tragic event,” Capt. McDonald said. “Keanu and Demi did a great job.”