My DS9 has a lot of sensory issues and struggled like MAD in the pool. He repeated level 1 over and over, literally for years. He FINALLY passed into level 2 at the age of 9 (I started him in lessons at 4 - I'm not joking - he just couldn't pass).
The main key that I can identify (other than the fact that he's grown and matured, which I'm sure has contributed) is the fact that I bought him goggles. He's extremely visual/spatial/right brained (excelled early at mazes, puzzles, etc). He needed to SEE under water (the chlorine hurt his eyes so he couldn't open them without goggles). Once he discovered that he could see what was below the surface without his eyes hurting, he was like a new kid in the pool.
Not sure if that helps. The key is to find the individual child's roadblock and address it. I wish I'd tried the goggles ages ago... I could have saved some money in lessons, lol.
