Surfer Healing surf camp for children with autism

A small child, snuggled into a red and yellow life jacket, struggles a little, reaches back for his mom as he is handed to a stranger and carried into the water. He's undoubtedly a bit overwhelmed. He has autism and there are lots of people and lots of noise and lots of color and movement on the beach. But he lies down on the big surf board and his surfer-partner starts to paddle out. A huge cheer erupts from the beach. It's hard to tell if he knows the cheer is for him, but everyone on the beach knows. There are only a few dry eyes anywhere on the beach.

One surfer volunteer told me he cries every time he does this. Another said when he first started surfing with kids with autism, he would bawl his eyes out as he paddled out with the first surfer of the day, then he and the kids had a great day surfing.

Each time a child and partner get on a board and paddle out, there is a cheer from the beach. This happens for every child. And on this day there are 100 children registered for the camp.

Suddenly there is an even louder cheer. Out on the water that first child to paddle out is now riding a wave, surfing for the first time ever. His volunteer partner helps keep him upright and keeps the board balanced. Gone are the anxieties and fears. It's hard for most of those on the beach to see the little guy's face. I get a closer view through my long lens. His face is a big wide smile. It's easy to pick out his mother on the beach: she's the one yelling the loudest, jumping up and down with tears streaming down her face.


As he returns to the beach, still all smiles, there is another huge cheer. His mother wades into the water to greet him, to hug him. Her tears are also now huge smiles. Volunteers help unbuckle and release him from the life jacket. He and his mother (or dad - or both!) pose for a quick picture then they are up the beach to dry off.

This scene is repeated over and over throughout the day. Because these are children with autism, some rides don't go as smoothly. Some children take more than one volunteer to get them on the board and keep them safe. Some don't quite make it to the wave; they paddle around in the calm shallow water. Others get totally into it, standing up, striking a classic arms-out surfer pose and even help paddle out. Some need to be held up, or put up on the partner's shoulders. Some barely seem to respond at all. No matter. Every one gets the opportunity to try. And most of them love it!


There are several organizations that do surf camps like this one. This one was presented by Surfers Healing, one of if not the, originators. This is from their website, www.surfershealing.org:

"Surfers Healing was founded by Israel and Danielle Paskowitz. Their son, Isaiah, was diagnosed with autism at age three. Like many autistic children, he often suffered from sensory overload-- simple sensations could overwhelm him. The ocean was the one place where he seemed to find respite.
A former competitive surfer, Israel hit upon an idea--with Isaiah on the front of his surfboard, and Izzy steering from the back, the two spent the day surfing together. Surfing had a profound impact on Isaiah. Israel and Danielle decided they wanted to share this unique therapy with other autistic children. They began to host day camps at the beach where autistic children and their families could be exposed to a completely new experience of surfing. "

As a lot of you know, Elaine is a speech language pathologist. Some of the children she worked with had autism. And for nearly two years before we moved to Puerto Rico, I worked in a school with kids with autism. The kids are amazing! It was wonderful to be a part of this event, even if just as an observer/photographer.

You can see more pictures of the Surfers Healing on Flickr and on PuertoRicoSurfPhoto.com