Change with son and swimming???
Are you sure he is "suddenly" afraid? My ADD'er will do something just fine for a while when in reality it was always intimidating to him. He was a little fearful every time he did it. He'll suddenly tell me his is afraid to it or he doens't like it ... just to avoid the stress. Is it possible that he just doesn't want the stress of going into the deep end so subconsciously he has acquired the fear? If that is the case then he may overcome it with a little time and a lot of exposure to the pool.
As far as my son is concerned (ADHD, age 12) he is ever changing. A commerical for "Boogeyman" led him to leave his closet open for weeks. At 7, a 3:00am trip to the bathroom to find a spider in the toilet led him to wet the bed for 2 weeks...After reading an R.L. Stine book a few years ago he refused to go in the basement anymore...even though he spent at least 2 hours a day there before reading the book.
I think this is totally off topic but I just wanted to share...
My 12 y/o ADHD sweetheart is terrified of water...but with good reason. At age 5, I took him and my then 1 year old son to what I thought was the greatest sitter put on the earth. I arrived after work to pick them up and was told my 5 year old was in the backyard playing with one of the other sitters and a few other children. I got their things together and then realized that once again my 1 year old had misplaced his beloved sippy cup. Typically I would search for it until found because I knew I would be facing a 20 minute drive of screams otherwise...but this day for the first time I decided to just let him scream and went out to round up my oldest. I walked around to the back yard...he wasn't there. The sitter had fallen asleep in a lawn chair. I began screaming and running around looking for him. I found him. The sitters had a 4 foot underground swimming pool with a gate...They had told me repeatedly that when children were present the gate would remain locked. This particular day they only put the padlock in the slot but did not lock it. My son had pushed a chair to the gate door and just pulled off the lock and walked on in. I pushed open the door and found my son floating face down in the pool. I pulled him out and panicked... Ironically, the same sitters who put his life in danger saved his life by performing CPR while I prayed to God on the porch steps to please save my baby.
A few months later I took my sons to a small lake set up like a beach. It was always so nice. My son took one step in the water and started screaming "Nooo!" I have tried to get him into swimming classes for years. He refuses to even try.
IMO, for your son something very simple like a story or a nightmare or something on TV could have brought on a phobia to the deeper waters. Lord knows that what is shown on TV and regular cable today could create fears for anyone! As with most of my sons sudden changes it seems to eventually iron itself out...I'm no doctor, of course, but it could just be a passing thing.
never had that problem. but maybe its a sensory issue. his feet need to feel something and feeling vulnerable in the water. Idk but good luck.Hi, everyone; it's been a while since i posted something, been busy. But I'm concerned about my son; he knows how to swim but somehow got this fear of water and now he won't go where he can't touch the bottom, he freaks out. But what i want to know is why this fear all of a sudden? He's 91/2, he took lessons at 3, 4YO, he was good really good and now he hates going in the deep end and stays in the shallow end. Won't dive at all, stuff like that. Why the change? By the way for those who are not familiar with me my son is aspergers and ADD. Thanks!! Does anyone have any advise or went through this too?
Has he been watching much TV lately? Everything this summer is about sharks b/c it's the anniversary of Jaws. Have been lots of talk about shark attacks on the news too....maybe he's hearing stuff if not actually watching it.
Jaws is one on my son's favorite movies, he watches all the shark programs, he reads shark books, YET, he will not swim anywhere in the pool that is shadowed and a bit darker.....b/c of his fear of sharks! 
Have you tried asking him what's got him spooked? My son wouldn't admit it for the longest time; he would get SO angry with me when I asked what he was afraid of b/c he knew in reality it was a stupid fear...then I asked if he was afraid that a shark was going to get him and he said, yep!
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