The mother of Joshua Al-Lateef Jr., a 6-year-old boy diagnosed with autism who drowned in a West Chester pond, has launched a foundation in his name to support other children with autism.
Jonisa Cook launched The Joshua Al-Lateef Jr. Foundation this summer. The nonprofit will provide scholarships and supportive services for families raising children with autism. Cook also partnered with Swim Life of Northern KY, a swimming school in Florence, Kentucky, to offer 10 swim class scholarships in Joshua’s name.
More than 300 families signed up hoping to receive the scholarship, Cook told The Enquirer. So, she knows there is a need for more free swimming lessons.
Foundation will offer services to kids with autism, other disorders
Cook said she’s working to partner the foundation with other local services. One brings therapy dogs that can prevent elopement, which is when kids with autism wander away from caregivers, into classrooms.
Cook wants the foundation to also benefit other neurodivergent kids, like those with ADHD or dyslexia.
The Joshua Al-Lateef Jr. Foundation will host its first fundraising gala in Sharonville on Nov. 15. Joshua drowned in November 2024, days before he would have celebrated his 7th birthday.
“I’m just determined to turn my pain into purpose, and that’s what’s honestly keeping me going,” Cook said. “I mean what I say; I am fully vested in this mission and making sure this doesn’t happen to another family.”
Joshua Al-Lateef Jr. drowned in a pond at his family’s West Chester apartment complex in November 2024. Less than a year later, another child with autism, 7-year-old Mar’Dasia Forte, drowned in a West Chester pond.
Drowning poses risk to autistic kids in West Chester and across the country
Joshua, who was nonspeaking, drowned in a pond at the family’s West Chester apartment complex. He was one of at least 77 autistic children who drowned in 2024 ‒ a record high ‒ according to the National Autism Association.
Many autistic kids are drawn to water, regardless of its temperature, because water offers a calming sensory effect. The risk of drowning for autistic children is more than 160 times greater than the general child population, according to a 2017 study by Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
Mar’Dasia Forte, a 7-year-old girl with autism, drowned in a different West Chester pond in June.
After Joshua’s death, Cook started a petition to create a new “Joshua Alert” system for missing children with spectrum disorders, which has garnered over 16,000 signatures.
“This is why I’m getting up every day,” Cook said. “Something has to change.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio mother of autistic boy who drowned brings help to families