Wrightsville Beach Surf Offers Healing to Children with Autism

Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina was full of smiles, laughter, and tears on Wednesday, September 14 as families from all over the United States gathered by the sea for Surfers Healing, a free California-based day camp that brings together autistic children and pro surfers.

It’s amazing,” said one parent as she filmed her son racing down a wave. She and her son drove down from Columbus, Ohio, to take part in this wonderful event. Her 12-year-old doesn’t speak, but his happy expressions were all his mom needed to see. “I know he loves it. He loves the ocean, he loves the water,” she said.

Surfer’s Healing was founded in 1972 by former competitive surfer Israel Paskowitz and his wife Danielle. Their son, Isaiah, was diagnosed with autism at age three. Like many autistic children, he often suffered from sensory overload, meaning simple sensations could overwhelm him. The ocean was the one place where he seemed to find relief.

According to SurfersHealing.org, with Isaiah on the front of his surfboard, and Israel steering from the back, the two spent the days 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. It started out as a one day event at San Onofre Beach and now the event is hosted for hundreds of children in places as far away as New York and Hawaii.

“Once you get them on the board, they seem to be really tranquil and calm,” said Jimmy Gamboa, one of the dozen or so surfers that took the kids out.

“We never thought it would actually come to the East Coast,” said another mother from West Virginia. She and her son had been counting the days.

The Autism Society of America defines autism as a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain, impacting development in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. Both children and adults with autism typically show difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities.

Children with autism often have problems with any changes in routine or familiar surroundings. Furthermore, new experiences and strange places sometimes set off behavior problems in public, making family outings difficult.

John Pike, surfer and individual who made the Wrightsville Beach event happen, stated that after his young son Gianni was diagnosed with autism, he flashed back to a television segment he had seen on Paskowitz years earlier. He called Israel directly with the invitation.

Local sponsors made donations and funded the entire event. For more information and a list of upcoming events, or to make a donation to the organization, please check out www.surfershealing.org.