Surfer's Healing: Camp for Autistic and Disabled Children

NEW YORK (WPIX)—By FRANCESCA MAXIME

Chances are, someone you know has an autistic child. According to the National Institutes of Health, three to six out of 1,000 children will be diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and boys are four times as likely to have ASD, than girls.   And so it was not unusual that all of the autistic children I met while doing my report on a surfing camp for autistic and disabled children, called “Surfer’s Healing,” were boys.

Last year, I met New York City-based portrait photographer Paul Colliton through a mutual friend, and he proudly showed me photos of his teenaged son, Billy. Like any proud parent, Paul couldn’t stop talking about Billy and what a great kid he was.  He later shared that Billy was autistic, and that Paul planned to spend much of his summer shooting photos of a surfing camp that he and Billy attended annually on Long Beach called “Surfer’s Healing.”  Paul shared those photos with me, and it was clear just how much fun these kids were having – in some cases, hanging on for their lives – off the backs of pro surfers who’d donated their time. Of the event, Paul says “these parents are so grateful for the surfers and this event, because these kids don’t get to do these things.  After school, they’re going to therapy - they’re going to OT, PT, speech.”

Paul introduced me to a few other dads who also had autistic sons, including the founder of “Surfer’s Healing,” pro surfer Izzy Paskowitz.  Izzy comes from a huge Hawaiian-based surfing family, and once hoped his son Isiah would be a pro surfer.  But soon after Isiah’s diagnosis as a toddler, Izzy had to change course, and twelve years ago, instead founded the surf camp for children with autism (and other disabilities).  Of “Surfer’s Healing,” Izzy says: “I welcome everybody to come out and witness something difficult, wonderful, (a) community kind of binding – and a little bit of magic.”

“Surfer’s Healing” camps take place everywhere from California to Long Beach; from North Carolina to Rhode Island.  Curtis Wilson and his son “C’ have attended the camp in Long Beach for the last several years.  Curtis, a former college hoops star, says it was difficult to accept that his son had limitations he never anticipated, but that facing the reality of autism has forced him to be a better man: “You have hopes and dreams for your kids – they don’t necessarily go away, but they change. And the one hope I have for my son is that he enjoys his life, and that he’s happy. And that he grows in all types of ways, spiritually, educationally, emotionally.”

Jim Cowan, who has an autistic teenager named Jimmy, says there’s something entirely special about exposing an autistic child to the water through surf camp:  “He's great in the water, he loves to swim.  We have kayaks, paddleboards, surfboards, a boat.  Everyone will tell you, everybody's different on the water - they're just so good on the water.  All summer when we're out on the boat you would think he's a different person, a normally developing kid - he just loves it.  And back on land, there's a lot of pent-up energy:  I think on the water there's a vestibular energy, that I think helps them keep in check.”

Izzy hopes to continue expanding his surf camps around the country, and around the world, and says that together, sharing the experience of having an autistic child can mean as much to the parents, as it does to the children surfing:  “We're family, we're family in the weirdest way. You get detached from your own family.  I've got eight handsome healthy brothers, and one sister - she's gnarly – (but) it's a heavy situation, and it makes it a little lighter when we're all together because we all have the same issues, the same problems.”



To learn more about “Surfer’s Healing,” Just go to www.surfershealing.org, or visit them on Facebook at:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Surfers-Healing/163567001547

Etsy's BEST Weekly: CKSilver

Fancy Jasper Inspirational Necklace

Ck Silver is an Etsy Jewelry shop run by a mother and daughter team of artists from beautiful Washington State, both of whose  primary inspiration is the beauty of nature. Their collection of jewelry is made  with the colors primarily found in earth and ocean. I love these sea-green Aventurine pieces.

CK Silver's quality jewelry pieces are classically designed and will withstand a lifetime of wear.The team chooses to work in Sterling Silver, freshwater pearls, semi-precious gemstones, and Swarovski crystal, but it is the colors that stand out to me. Gloriously muted earth tones like in these Leopardskin Jasper pieces perfectly paired with pink Rhodondite:

  At CK Silver, the sterling silver jewelry  is timeless and elegant. Unique and one of a kind silver pieces that are well-made, balanced, and elegant; easy and, very importantly, comfortable to wear.

 Take the guess work out of ,"what to wear with what," by buying in sets like this "Champagne Sunset" set.

Eternity Blue Sodalite Necklace on Sterling Silver Chain

 Marilyn and Cindy have a common goal: this is for their customer to be completely satisfied. Each and every piece is created with experience, excellence and pride and CK Silver stands proudly behind their workmanship.

Don't know what to get a new bride? CK Silver has a fantastically priced jewelry of the month club.  Every month your giftee receives a new piece of pearl jewelry, (hint:there is no rule that  the giftee should not be you).

These "First Snowfall" earrings are  another great idea for a bride. Or, you can have Cindy and Marilyn design a custom jewelry collection for the whole bridal party.

The gals at CKSilver have a content-full blog that you will love to read. And it is no wonder they have been featured in nearly fifty blogs!

Thank you for reading,

Norah

CK Silver is a member of the BEST of Etsy

The Boosting Etsy Shops Team's goal is to provide marketing support for each others' Etsy shops by writing WEEKLY features on our blogs. For those that have them, we encourage use of Twitter Accounts and Facebook Fanpages to further this goal. Our team also shows support by offering free advertising for each other. We are a very dynamic, active group and we are now accepting new members!

April is Autism Awarness Month

In support of  April being Autism Awareness Month, 10% of proceeds from sales at Your Daily Jewels  throughout the month of April will be donated to the Autism Society's "Autism Source" for families. 

Someone you know is touched by Autism.

Current Data from the CDC

• It is estimated that between 1 in 80 and 1 in 240 with an average of 1 in 110 children in the United States have an ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) 

 This is a 600% increase in the last twenty years!

• ASDs are reported to occur in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups, yet are on average 4 to 5 times more likely to occur in boys than in girls.  However, we need more information on some less studied populations and regions around the world. 

• If 4 million children are born in the United States every year, approximately 36,500 children will eventually be diagnosed with an ASD.  Assuming the prevalence rate has been constant over the past two decades, we can estimate that about 730,000 individuals between the ages of 0 to 21 have an ASD. 

• Studies in Asia, Europe and North America have identified individuals with an ASD with an approximate prevalence of 0.6% to over 1%.

• Approximately 13% of children have a developmental disability, ranging from mild disabilities such as speech and language impairments to serious developmental disabilities, such as intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, and autism

The Autism Society, among other things, runs Autism Source,  providing much needed  nationwide searchability for autism-related services and supports by location or service type. The Autism Source^TM Resource Database, created in 2004, is the most comprehensive database of its kind. The Autism Society strives to offer only credible and reliable resources to our constituents, therefore we have employed our nationwide network of chapters and collaborated with other autism organizations and professionals throughout the U.S. It is because of these collaborative relationships that the Resource Database continues to grow and is kept current with comprehensive resource listings.