Surfing & Autism
Surfing and Autism
As of 2011 autism effects one in one hundred and ten children. Due to the amount of children diagnosed each year doctors, parents and teachers are looking for way to help theses children. There is no known cause for most types autism as well as there is no known cure for this disability. But there are a multitude of therapies available that allow these children play and connect with others as well as learn. One therapy that has recently began to help theses children is Surfing Therapy.
Autism can effect any child no matter race or ethnicity but it is more likely to effect boys than girls. Autism covers a spectrum, as in a child can be either severely autistic or a child can high functioning autistic. Meaning the child can do many day to day activities with only a few conflicts while others need more assistance. Children with autism have a hard time communicating and interacting with others, and making eye contact. They are also known to be withdrawn from others. Many of theses children have a sensory overload which leads to the constant playing or shaking of their hands. They might also shy away from physical activity because it is either overwhelming or because they are not strong enough to do so. This symptoms are just some of many that can effect children on this autism spectrum but these are the ones therapist thought that they could manage if they where to conduct therapy in water.
Water therapy has been proven to help children on the entire spectrum. The water has a constant pressure which can give children the constant sensory output they crave. Therapy Works Inc works with children with autism and how water therapy effects them. They found that their normal behavior changes when they enter the water. The water calms the children and helps reduce hyperactivity, decrease tactile sensitivity, decrease self-stimulatory behaviors and repetitive behaviors (Koe, 2009). The water also gives children a sense of security that they don’t receive on land. They have a fear of falling and getting hurt but in the water there is no fear of that because the body can naturally float. The children don’t get this security right away but after spending a short time in the water they begin to feel safe in the water. Children with autism do not always have the same muscle capacity as those children of them same age and not on the spectrum. The water will help build up the child's endurance, strength as well as their coordination and balance, helping them with there muscle growth.
Water therapy is also an activity that can not be done by ones self. Children with autism have the tendency to be withdrawn from others. They will often play alone even if other children are there to play with them. With water therapy the child is always with someone else, an instructor or maybe a parent, and most water activities take place within a group setting. Beth Ennis, assistant professor of physical therapy at Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY said that playing in the water with a simple toy like a ball is a good way to start for theses children. Is a way to interact with out talking, for nonverbal children but still forces eye contact, which is a social cue most are missing. Simple things, like playing with a ball, in the water, a safe and comfortable place for these children, becomes effective tool.
Water therapy has lead into other activities in the water to help children with autism, such as surfing. It lead Israel and Danielle Paskowitz to form an organization called Surfers Healing. It all started when the Paskowitzs brought their son Isaiah to a surfing competition. Isaiah is a child with autism he did not communicate, he would throw fits and get fussy in public and he like most children with this diagnoses had a sensory overload. While at the surfing competition Israel, the father as well as a professional surfer, brought Isaiah in the water knowing the calming effects water can have on a person. The water calmed Isaiah immediately he became less fussy and impatient. Since Israel is a pro-surfer and in an effort to connect to his son he decided to take him out to surf with him. They spent hours outs out in the ocean and Isaiah would ride on the front of his fathers board. “There’s something magical that happens that still, to this day, freaks me out,” Israel said. “It’s the surf of the ocean, but it’s really bigger than that.”(Pope, 2009). Israel explains the effect that the water and the surfing have had on his son. He didn’t know the reason all he knew was the result was amazing. The rides progressed and Israel began to see improvements in Isaiah’s behavior. He was having less out breaks in public, he was calmer and he also began to communicate more.
With theses results the Paskowitzs took there idea to the public. They started a camp on the west coast that welcomed all parents with autistic children to come out and have a day of fun. A day of fun, a break form the childs daily schedules of constant learning and therapies. Israel stated in an interview to CBS’s Katie Couric that this is day when children can try something new. It is also a day that forces parents to have to let go. The ocean is not the safest place but what it can provide for your child is unlike anything else. Paskowitz’s are a big surfing family that has been training pro-surfers for years. With professional surfers help and many volunteers they opened a camp to take the children into the water. The surfer start off by connecting with the child, playing in the water, talking about things that they like and this all happens while the parents are back on the beach. As as for the questionable safety of the ocean all children are required to wear a coast guard approved life jacket. After a while the surfer and child will get on a board and paddle out to the waves. Some children will just sit on the front of the board others will stand up and some will be held by the surfer as they ride the wave. This becomes an experience that no one will forget, not even the child.
The results of this day of surfing are astonishing to these parents. Some children who never communicate will tell you what they just did. “We went…” and Zachary smiled and said, “surfing.”... Zachary is verbal, but has problems vocalizing anything that’s not in the here-and-now...” said Francine Kleiss ("Surfers way," 2009). This is just one parent who’s child who talks mainly from visual prompts. Other parents found with trying this therapy more than one time there child was able to communicate what they wanted. Other where able to make eye contact during this activity. One parent said “he won’t look you in the eye when you are talking but he is listening,... But off he went and after 4 tries he was standing up. He made eye contact” (Surfers for Autism). This activity also gives the children a place to make friends where everyone is in the same situation. One mother said her daughter made friends and “no one cared who spun in circles or said something inappropriate, they just welcomed you for who you were” and that the day surfing was a day where “she isn’t a girl with Asperser’s- she is just a girl who is 7 catching a wave.” (Surfers for Autism). Theses days on the beach turn from therapy sessions to a day on the beach that any family can have. Surfing also allow for children who are hyperactive to release there energy in a productive way. They spend all day in the water as well as outside on the beach making it a healthy way for them to use that spare energy before they get home. These are all great achievements for this organization but Israel says that this is not a cure for this disorder. It is merely away to deal with some of the symptoms outside the house and classroom (CBS Interview).
This Paskowitz’s have started a movement across the United States. They wanted to share what they had so they started Surfers Healing from there the movement has had a life of its own. There are now camps all over the east and west coasts. Each organization is committed to the same beliefs that Israel and Danielle Paskowitz shared with there son. Its a time for the child to get away, experience something they would normally not be able to, and to connect to something bigger than them, the ocean. The surfers who volunteer there time are amazed at how when they first meet the child they will barely talk and are apprehensive but by then end of the session together they can tell you what they liked and how they really don’t want to get out of the water. Physician Spencer Bezalel, who is also a surfer, was studying the effects of autism in children. Bezalel found when he spent the day at one of the events he met “a boy named Ollie who really bonded with me. He even went so far as to continue finding me and holding my hand to take him surfing again, and this is rare for a child with autism” (Rossman, 2010). This reaction is so rare because children with autism are usually withdraw and prefer not to be touched or to touch anyone else. In other words they don’t the importance of human touch and how its essential part of communication. All these results have no scientific research behind them but all the parents who allow their children to participate would agree that this therapy is unlike any other they have ever tried.
Surfers Way a surfing camp held on Long Island during the summer month have expanded their camp to included children with other disabilities. Their motto is to create an atmosphere “Where your child can laugh, learn, and experience the wave of a lifetime, regardless of their challenges!”("Surfers way," 2009). Being from Long Island I know that there are many children who are autistic and many camps are available for these children. Besides private swim lessons or an hour in the pool at another camp this is one of the only camp focusing on water therapy. Surfers Way expanded the number of children they help by expanding the kinds of disabilities they offer to help. They allow children with cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis as well children with autism to participate and enjoy a day on the waves. As long as the child is willing to go in the water and the parent is willing to let go these surfers will take the child into the water for a day that most parents say they will not forget.
This therapy Israel started as a way to connect to his son was not done to find a cure but as a way to ease his sons pain. He knew that the water had healing powers and took advantage of that. His son is now a teenager and can surf on his own. The Paskowitz say their son, Isaiah, would now fall on the high functioning part of the autism spectrum. This may be do to the water and the surfing but it also might have to do with the focus and detection to one main therapy along with the support of his parents. This children need scheduling and the Paskowitz’s gave that to there son, in the form of surfing. What also might contribute to the success of this therapy is the surfers way of life. The surfing life is laid back and there biggest worry is finding the perfect wave. Israel says that “Wading into the ocean and then balancing on a surfboard, it turns out, are effective ways to break such routines” (Marks). The routine of both constant therapy plus the overactive sensory overload compulsive behaviors. In the water there is no need for words it about feeling the water and letting it tell you when the right wave will come. Even though this therapy does help with communication out in the water if the child just wants to relax there is no pressure to talk. All this aspects lead to great therapy but still no cure.
The results of this therapy are astonishing and you can not help but smile when you see these children get on a board and get into the ocean. The water is a powerful force in our world and when we use it to our advantage great things can come from it. The surfer and volunteers who put there time into these camps on both coasts have opened a world to theses children that would normally be closed. The Paskowitz Family is still involved in their cause and at the moment are petitioning Pepsi for a grant to bring autistic children from the the middle of the United States to the ocean so they can take place in this therapy. As more children are being diagnosed each year and even every day people are looking for ways to help theses children. This therapy can easily be done wherever there is an ocean.
References
As of 2011 autism effects one in one hundred and ten children. Due to the amount of children diagnosed each year doctors, parents and teachers are looking for way to help theses children. There is no known cause for most types autism as well as there is no known cure for this disability. But there are a multitude of therapies available that allow these children play and connect with others as well as learn. One therapy that has recently began to help theses children is Surfing Therapy.
Autism can effect any child no matter race or ethnicity but it is more likely to effect boys than girls. Autism covers a spectrum, as in a child can be either severely autistic or a child can high functioning autistic. Meaning the child can do many day to day activities with only a few conflicts while others need more assistance. Children with autism have a hard time communicating and interacting with others, and making eye contact. They are also known to be withdrawn from others. Many of theses children have a sensory overload which leads to the constant playing or shaking of their hands. They might also shy away from physical activity because it is either overwhelming or because they are not strong enough to do so. This symptoms are just some of many that can effect children on this autism spectrum but these are the ones therapist thought that they could manage if they where to conduct therapy in water.
Water therapy has been proven to help children on the entire spectrum. The water has a constant pressure which can give children the constant sensory output they crave. Therapy Works Inc works with children with autism and how water therapy effects them. They found that their normal behavior changes when they enter the water. The water calms the children and helps reduce hyperactivity, decrease tactile sensitivity, decrease self-stimulatory behaviors and repetitive behaviors (Koe, 2009). The water also gives children a sense of security that they don’t receive on land. They have a fear of falling and getting hurt but in the water there is no fear of that because the body can naturally float. The children don’t get this security right away but after spending a short time in the water they begin to feel safe in the water. Children with autism do not always have the same muscle capacity as those children of them same age and not on the spectrum. The water will help build up the child's endurance, strength as well as their coordination and balance, helping them with there muscle growth.
Water therapy is also an activity that can not be done by ones self. Children with autism have the tendency to be withdrawn from others. They will often play alone even if other children are there to play with them. With water therapy the child is always with someone else, an instructor or maybe a parent, and most water activities take place within a group setting. Beth Ennis, assistant professor of physical therapy at Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY said that playing in the water with a simple toy like a ball is a good way to start for theses children. Is a way to interact with out talking, for nonverbal children but still forces eye contact, which is a social cue most are missing. Simple things, like playing with a ball, in the water, a safe and comfortable place for these children, becomes effective tool.
Water therapy has lead into other activities in the water to help children with autism, such as surfing. It lead Israel and Danielle Paskowitz to form an organization called Surfers Healing. It all started when the Paskowitzs brought their son Isaiah to a surfing competition. Isaiah is a child with autism he did not communicate, he would throw fits and get fussy in public and he like most children with this diagnoses had a sensory overload. While at the surfing competition Israel, the father as well as a professional surfer, brought Isaiah in the water knowing the calming effects water can have on a person. The water calmed Isaiah immediately he became less fussy and impatient. Since Israel is a pro-surfer and in an effort to connect to his son he decided to take him out to surf with him. They spent hours outs out in the ocean and Isaiah would ride on the front of his fathers board. “There’s something magical that happens that still, to this day, freaks me out,” Israel said. “It’s the surf of the ocean, but it’s really bigger than that.”(Pope, 2009). Israel explains the effect that the water and the surfing have had on his son. He didn’t know the reason all he knew was the result was amazing. The rides progressed and Israel began to see improvements in Isaiah’s behavior. He was having less out breaks in public, he was calmer and he also began to communicate more.
With theses results the Paskowitzs took there idea to the public. They started a camp on the west coast that welcomed all parents with autistic children to come out and have a day of fun. A day of fun, a break form the childs daily schedules of constant learning and therapies. Israel stated in an interview to CBS’s Katie Couric that this is day when children can try something new. It is also a day that forces parents to have to let go. The ocean is not the safest place but what it can provide for your child is unlike anything else. Paskowitz’s are a big surfing family that has been training pro-surfers for years. With professional surfers help and many volunteers they opened a camp to take the children into the water. The surfer start off by connecting with the child, playing in the water, talking about things that they like and this all happens while the parents are back on the beach. As as for the questionable safety of the ocean all children are required to wear a coast guard approved life jacket. After a while the surfer and child will get on a board and paddle out to the waves. Some children will just sit on the front of the board others will stand up and some will be held by the surfer as they ride the wave. This becomes an experience that no one will forget, not even the child.
The results of this day of surfing are astonishing to these parents. Some children who never communicate will tell you what they just did. “We went…” and Zachary smiled and said, “surfing.”... Zachary is verbal, but has problems vocalizing anything that’s not in the here-and-now...” said Francine Kleiss ("Surfers way," 2009). This is just one parent who’s child who talks mainly from visual prompts. Other parents found with trying this therapy more than one time there child was able to communicate what they wanted. Other where able to make eye contact during this activity. One parent said “he won’t look you in the eye when you are talking but he is listening,... But off he went and after 4 tries he was standing up. He made eye contact” (Surfers for Autism). This activity also gives the children a place to make friends where everyone is in the same situation. One mother said her daughter made friends and “no one cared who spun in circles or said something inappropriate, they just welcomed you for who you were” and that the day surfing was a day where “she isn’t a girl with Asperser’s- she is just a girl who is 7 catching a wave.” (Surfers for Autism). Theses days on the beach turn from therapy sessions to a day on the beach that any family can have. Surfing also allow for children who are hyperactive to release there energy in a productive way. They spend all day in the water as well as outside on the beach making it a healthy way for them to use that spare energy before they get home. These are all great achievements for this organization but Israel says that this is not a cure for this disorder. It is merely away to deal with some of the symptoms outside the house and classroom (CBS Interview).
This Paskowitz’s have started a movement across the United States. They wanted to share what they had so they started Surfers Healing from there the movement has had a life of its own. There are now camps all over the east and west coasts. Each organization is committed to the same beliefs that Israel and Danielle Paskowitz shared with there son. Its a time for the child to get away, experience something they would normally not be able to, and to connect to something bigger than them, the ocean. The surfers who volunteer there time are amazed at how when they first meet the child they will barely talk and are apprehensive but by then end of the session together they can tell you what they liked and how they really don’t want to get out of the water. Physician Spencer Bezalel, who is also a surfer, was studying the effects of autism in children. Bezalel found when he spent the day at one of the events he met “a boy named Ollie who really bonded with me. He even went so far as to continue finding me and holding my hand to take him surfing again, and this is rare for a child with autism” (Rossman, 2010). This reaction is so rare because children with autism are usually withdraw and prefer not to be touched or to touch anyone else. In other words they don’t the importance of human touch and how its essential part of communication. All these results have no scientific research behind them but all the parents who allow their children to participate would agree that this therapy is unlike any other they have ever tried.
Surfers Way a surfing camp held on Long Island during the summer month have expanded their camp to included children with other disabilities. Their motto is to create an atmosphere “Where your child can laugh, learn, and experience the wave of a lifetime, regardless of their challenges!”("Surfers way," 2009). Being from Long Island I know that there are many children who are autistic and many camps are available for these children. Besides private swim lessons or an hour in the pool at another camp this is one of the only camp focusing on water therapy. Surfers Way expanded the number of children they help by expanding the kinds of disabilities they offer to help. They allow children with cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis as well children with autism to participate and enjoy a day on the waves. As long as the child is willing to go in the water and the parent is willing to let go these surfers will take the child into the water for a day that most parents say they will not forget.
This therapy Israel started as a way to connect to his son was not done to find a cure but as a way to ease his sons pain. He knew that the water had healing powers and took advantage of that. His son is now a teenager and can surf on his own. The Paskowitz say their son, Isaiah, would now fall on the high functioning part of the autism spectrum. This may be do to the water and the surfing but it also might have to do with the focus and detection to one main therapy along with the support of his parents. This children need scheduling and the Paskowitz’s gave that to there son, in the form of surfing. What also might contribute to the success of this therapy is the surfers way of life. The surfing life is laid back and there biggest worry is finding the perfect wave. Israel says that “Wading into the ocean and then balancing on a surfboard, it turns out, are effective ways to break such routines” (Marks). The routine of both constant therapy plus the overactive sensory overload compulsive behaviors. In the water there is no need for words it about feeling the water and letting it tell you when the right wave will come. Even though this therapy does help with communication out in the water if the child just wants to relax there is no pressure to talk. All this aspects lead to great therapy but still no cure.
The results of this therapy are astonishing and you can not help but smile when you see these children get on a board and get into the ocean. The water is a powerful force in our world and when we use it to our advantage great things can come from it. The surfer and volunteers who put there time into these camps on both coasts have opened a world to theses children that would normally be closed. The Paskowitz Family is still involved in their cause and at the moment are petitioning Pepsi for a grant to bring autistic children from the the middle of the United States to the ocean so they can take place in this therapy. As more children are being diagnosed each year and even every day people are looking for ways to help theses children. This therapy can easily be done wherever there is an ocean.
References
- Autism. In (2010). N. Kaneshiro & D. Zieve (Eds.), A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia PubMed Health
- Couric, K. (Performer) (2007). Surfers healing [Television series episode]. In CBS:Eye to Eye. New York: CBS. Retrieved from CBSNews.com
- Diagnosis. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/diagnosis
- Ennis, B. (2009, june 17). Testing the effects of aquatic therapy on children with autism. Retrieved from http://www.davisptnetwork.com/posts/839-testing-the-effects-of-aquatic-therapy-on-children-with-autism
- Koe, D. (2009). Aquatic therapy and the child with autism. Retrieved from http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/199914/aquatic-therapy-and-child-with-autism
- Mars, B. (n.d.). Surf therapy. bringing the pacific to autistic kids . Retrieved from http:// www.sunset.com/travel/outdoor-adventure/surf-therapy-00400000018159/
- Pope, J. (2009, June 20). Surfing helps calm autistic children. Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved from http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jun/20/surfing-helps-calm-autistic-children/
- Rossman, D. (2010, July/Aug). Catch the waves. Parenting Special Needs, (12), Retrieved from http://parentingspecialneeds.org/article&article=312
- Surfers for autism (2007). [Online forum comment]. Retrieved from http://www.surfersforautism.org/testimonials/page3.asp
- Surfers healing (2009). [Online forum comment]. Retrieved from http://www.surfershealing.org/index.html
- Surfers way. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.surfersway.org/index.html
Coloring Book
I focused my toy for children with autism. I took a coloring book and added the colors to it, in hope to help children to learn their colors. This book is designed to be a learning tool as well as a play thing. A coloring book is one of the most basic play things a child has and with small modifications it can be turned into a learning tool. It is an opportunity for the children with autism to do something that other children get to do.
When going through the coloring book it does not go in the order of the rainbow. Instead it starts with the primary colors because these three colors are distinct and don’t look like other colors. For example orange looks to much like red so to teach them right after another would not effective. Each color is also given an eight to nine page spread, this feature is for repetition. Each spread follows the same pattern, which is key for a child with autism. The pattern repeats for each color, it shows the color, than it will ask what color is it, than it will show objects of that color, followed by asking the child to pick out that color. After that it moves onto the activities and the actual coloring. The child will color something in nature that is that color. Than they will get to color shapes and objects. By focusing on one color and one pattern instead of multiple colors and multiple patterns this will help the child learn the colors. Than after learning two colors the book moves into a section involving both of the colors. Than the book moves onto a new color than there will be a review with three colors. With this repetition will continue until all the colors are covers.
The next big part is the communication and visual aspects. The book is full of colors and when the child uses plays with it, it will become even more colorful. Than there is the communication aspect. This aspect calls for the child to work with a parent or instructor .The book tells the color and than ask the question “What color is this?” which the child hopefully answer. For this to work the instructor must ask the questions and encourage the child to answer. This part is mainly for children with little communication and looking to improve communication. If you have a child who is non-verbal autistic you can write the word out in that color and have them point. Since the book has the child color something in nature that color the instructor or parent next time they see that object can ask the child the “what color is this?” to help with the learning process.
Coloring is something every child does and it begins at a young age and as kids begin to color they learn there colors. A child with autism lose out on some of theses things due to their delays but with a coloring book like this the parent and child can spend time coloring as well as learning. This way their child can do what other children can just in a different way.
When going through the coloring book it does not go in the order of the rainbow. Instead it starts with the primary colors because these three colors are distinct and don’t look like other colors. For example orange looks to much like red so to teach them right after another would not effective. Each color is also given an eight to nine page spread, this feature is for repetition. Each spread follows the same pattern, which is key for a child with autism. The pattern repeats for each color, it shows the color, than it will ask what color is it, than it will show objects of that color, followed by asking the child to pick out that color. After that it moves onto the activities and the actual coloring. The child will color something in nature that is that color. Than they will get to color shapes and objects. By focusing on one color and one pattern instead of multiple colors and multiple patterns this will help the child learn the colors. Than after learning two colors the book moves into a section involving both of the colors. Than the book moves onto a new color than there will be a review with three colors. With this repetition will continue until all the colors are covers.
The next big part is the communication and visual aspects. The book is full of colors and when the child uses plays with it, it will become even more colorful. Than there is the communication aspect. This aspect calls for the child to work with a parent or instructor .The book tells the color and than ask the question “What color is this?” which the child hopefully answer. For this to work the instructor must ask the questions and encourage the child to answer. This part is mainly for children with little communication and looking to improve communication. If you have a child who is non-verbal autistic you can write the word out in that color and have them point. Since the book has the child color something in nature that color the instructor or parent next time they see that object can ask the child the “what color is this?” to help with the learning process.
Coloring is something every child does and it begins at a young age and as kids begin to color they learn there colors. A child with autism lose out on some of theses things due to their delays but with a coloring book like this the parent and child can spend time coloring as well as learning. This way their child can do what other children can just in a different way.
coloring_book_copy.zip | |
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File Type: | zip |