Surfers Healing

A frustrated parent, an autistic child in meltdown, a public setting...this was the birthplace of Surfers Healing, an organization dedicated to taking children with Autism and immersing them in the restorative waters of the ocean.

Surfers Healing takes kids on the autism spectrum and introduces them to surfing, all the while doing so in a disarming, friendly manner that eases the kids into the ocean at their own pace, in their own way. Since 1996, their staff have held day-long surf camps from southern California to New England as well as Florida and Puerto Rico. We first heard about this organization through reading an obituary on surfline.com where the persons family asked for donations to Surfers Healing in lieu of flowers. It got our attention.

In the landlocked states we live in, anything surfing invokes Endless Summer and beach mode. And more importantly, combining this with an ability to reset or allay the overload of stimulation for kids--writing about this group was a no-brainer. We hope they continue to grow in getting kids in the water and on surfboards, in an effort to alleviate sensory overload and allow our Autism children the freedom to smile and play with friends and family. We encourage you to check them out!

https://www.surfershealing.org/