Breathe, Don’t Sink Ben Schwenker is learning “drown-proofing,” important for a skinny 8-year-old, since his low body fat (a physiological system) makes floating harder. Ecological systems also make this skill vital, since Ben is in Marietta, a city with thousands of pools, in Georgia, a state bordered by the Atlantic. Another system is relevant: Ben was diagnosed with autism at age 1; for him, a sense of body strength and autonomy is particularly important.