T.J. Poole hoists Lucas Fuentes, 9, after a ride at a recent SFA event. Autism is the fastest-growing developmental disorder in the nation and affects 1 in 150 children. These children face tremendous challenges in communicating and are socially withdrawn, but a local group has created a day that levels the playing field.
Boca-based Surfers For Autism takes autistic children surfing for the day under the watchful eye of amazed parents and beachgoers.
“At first I really wasn't sure how my son Dan would react, but I guess that was my own fear and not his. He loved riding the waves over and over and in the car on the way home kept saying, ride the waves, ride the waves, yeah!,” said Jackie Merens, South Florida Regional Director of Autism Speaks.
SFA raises funds for Autism Speaks, the nation’s largest autism science and advocacy organization, and was the top fundraiser for Broward County’s 2009 Autism Speaks Walk.
Qualified instructors guide the children into the waves, and the line dividing autistic children from non-autistic children disappears.
“One of the most amazing things is that once they are in the water, there really is no difference. I had parents tell me afterward that their child had never communicated like that or been so receptive to touch, and there are very few dry eyes,” said SFA Chairman Don Ryan.
Demand is growing, and the group is heading up the east coast, and the next stop is Cocoa Beach Sept. 19. SFA is reaching out to the community for support. The group needs a new or good condition, minimum 16-foot enclosed trailer to haul the equipment and eight, 8-by-10 plastic tables with folding legs.
“The trailer is really important and something we desperately need. Any business or organization that donates will appear prominently on the back of the trailer as we head up the east coast, and it will be great advertising,” said Ryan.
SFA is a nonprofit organization and all donations are tax-deductible. For more information or to donate, please call Don Ryan at 561-445-7154.