Another Perfect Day

This is our fourth summer surfing with Surfers Healing (surf therapy for autistic children). This time was extra special because we were all there together, all three of my autistic kids and my husband. Previous years Lane, my husband, couldn’t make it because he was working.. and my oldest aspie was at scout camp.

It was also extra special because we’ve developed a friendship with founders Izzy and Danielle Paskowitz, and many of the regular volunteers and greet us with hugs. This is truly an autism ohana.

Maui was first, happy to put on a dry wet suit😋. He went out with Izzy and they paddled way way out and caught some great waves. Maui told me later this helped him get over his fear of being on the open ocean. Izzy jumped off at the end, allowing Maui to surf on his own. He stood up and surfed by himself! Lane and I were so excited for him!

Maui surfing with Izzy

Catching a wave on his own!

Thor surfed with Izzy too! When Izzy asked how many waves he wanted to catch, Thor said, “All of them!”

Thor and Izzy

The man with the biggest heart!

Mosiah surfed a bit later with Ben, he had so much joy on his face!

Mosiah looking like pro!

Finally Liam decided to surf. Liam is our ocean boy. The child born in the water, and our lowest functioning on the spectrum. Unfortunately, he’s also ultra picky and super skinny, so he has no insulation. He never lasts long in the ocean before he’s too cold. But he loves to surf, “small waves” he says. Izzy took him out, far far out. They waited for the perfect wave. Liam was quiet, just being in the moment. And then it came, “out of nowhere”, Izzy said. The perfect wave. Liam flew back to the shore with Izzy. Liam was done with one wave, but it was enough. It was another moment to add to his memories on the ocean, on the waves.

I love that Lane captured this moment between Liam and Jennifer, a volunteer, who has been with us since we started surfing. They are wonderful humans who love our kids. It’s a very cool thing.

Another perfect day has come and gone. Friendships, family, our wonderful autism ohana.

Another Perfect Day with Surfer’s Healing

Just last summer, 2016, we signed up for Surfer’s Healing again. This year was different, they set things up as a “draw your name” sort of way so everyone gets a fair chance. Somehow we were blessed again! We got into Surfer’s Healing Malibu in June.

#5’s wave pic

This year I decided to do things different, better. I think I nearly perfected the trip… except that my husband was working in Hawaii… Luckily I had my amazing son #2 with me. He’s 19 and amazing. So anyway… I got us a hotel (last year we drove there and back in one day (yes.. I was exhausted). We got an extra-large cabana tent. Had tons of food. We were set. And we left at about 4AM to get there by 9AM for opening ceremonies and prayer. I only got lost once and got one parking ticket! 😉 Otherwise.. a totally smooth and wonderful trip.

We got there and the amazing volunteers were instantly there to help. We set up our tent and joined the circle for prayer. Izzy, who is jewish, usually says it, he said, but today a Hawaiian chant was said by a surfer. It was overcast and sort of chilly and absolutely perfect. We were, once again, a later group to surf. So we played and played and ate our food and enjoyed lunch from the volunteers. By this time the sun had burned off the clouds, which was good because the water was freezing. Still, the boys wouldn’t stay away from it. We saw families with all kinds of levels on the spectrum. That feeling of connection was there. A totally friendly feel.

The volunteers were so sweet, and the love was strong there on that beach. When we finally had our turn and the boys suited up and were being pared with surfers, my heart jumped when boy#3 was paired with Izzy. I was not able to meet him or his beautiful wife Danielle last year. He was resting on a surf board and my son sat with him for a few minutes. Then they went out to surf. Once again I ran across the beach dodging families trying to photograph and video tape each boy. It was harder without my husband, but my #2 was napping with #6 in our cabana. #5, my ocean boy, my lover of all things ocean wanted to stop surfing after the first time, which surprised me.

But the water was just so cold, and that kid has zero body fat! He joined the napping and I kept filming. After #3’s surfing was over I was able to meet and talk with Izzy and Danielle. Izzy was so great, he was like; “ya know what, I get you”. He called my boy a ‘gentle soul’ and we chatted about the number of autism in my family. They were so down to earth and lovely. I instantly felt like these were my old friends who did “get me”. Autism people understand each other.

Boys napping and enjoying thier Surfer’s Healing trophies

We packed up early this time and left in search for our hotel. It was another perfect day! If we don’t get in next year or the years after, I will always remember those perfect days. Perfect days made into reality because of love. Love from Izzy and Danielle, love from the surfers, love from all the volunteers. Thank you all of you!

 

One Perfect Day with Surfer’s Healing

For two summers now my three spectrum boys have been blessed to get into Surfer’s Healing Camp in Malibu, California. I first read something about Surfer’s Healing years ago on an autism resource site. The organization was created by Izzy and Danielle Paskowitz. Izzy grew up in a surfing family. In fact there is a movie about his unique upbringing called Surfwise. Izzy and Danielle have three children, one of them is autistic. Surfing was a way to connect with their son, and that’s how idea for Surfer’s Healing began. They have professional surfers come and surf with the kids for one perfect day. The first summer was June 2015. We signed up and anxiously waited and waited to see if we got it. When the email came I felt like I’d won a million dollars, I was so excited! I think more than my sons and my husband.

We were slotted to surf in one of the last groups, so we arrived around noon. We set up our little umbrella and signed in with the wonderful volunteers. They gave each boy a bag of freebies and a ticket for lunch. We played and waited and watched the other autism families around us. A unique experience to be surrounded by people who ‘understand’.

When it was finally our turn, we went up to the tents and the boys were put in wet suits and life vests and a sweet volunteer matched each with a surfer. The surfers were kind and gentle with them we watched as they took them far out on the ocean until they was barely a way to distinguish who was who. I don’t think very many other parents there had the same problem we had, trying to film and photograph three kids surfing at once. I also had a sleeping boy #6, my then three year old, on me as I tried to fiddle with my cell phone to take pics, running across the beach dodging families to get a perfect shot. After each boy surfed three or four times, they came back to shore where awesome volunteers cheered for them. Then we took pics with each surfer. It was a day. The kids surfed. On the ocean!

After our group surfed, it was time to close up shop and we played and watched as they slowly disappeared. Soon it was another beach. We played and loved the ocean until we all decided it was time to go. Boy #5 talked about surfing everyday. He drew pictures about surfing with Peter (Stinky Pete). It was truly One Perfect Day.