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"Israel and Danielle Paskowitz are the founders of Surfers Healing. Their son, Isaiah, was diagnosed with autism at age three. Like many autistic children, he often suffered from sensory overload--simple sensations could become overwhelming, even painful. The one thing that seemed to calm him was being in the ocean; even as a baby Isaiah loved to swim and splash in the shallows. Israel and Danielle’s two other children are Israelah 16 and Elijah 9. Isaiah is now 13.
In an inspired moment, Israel, a former champion longboard surfer, borrowed a large board built for tandem surfing. Putting Isaiah on the front of the board, Israel sat behind him, paddling and steering from the back. They spent the day catching waves and surfing together. The impact it had on both Isaiah and Israel was profound. 'There was something about the ocean that calmed him', recounts Israel. 'Being in the water seemed to soothe his overloaded senses.' More importantly, surfing together had created a new closeness between Israel and Isaiah....
Today, the day camps, which are free to participants, are attended by over 200 people and receive media coverage from the likes of People magazine and HBO television. Says Danielle, 'This all started out as a means to share something really meaningful to us with other families of autistic children. It’s amazing to see how much joy this has brought not just to the kids, but to the families as well.'
Currently, day camps are being held in Southern California, New York and Hawaii. The hope of the foundation is to continue to expand so that one day, surf camps could be offered to autistic children all over the world."
Need surf & beach volunteers.
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Click for a bird's eye view of Surfers Healing OC location!
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San Juan Capistrano
Surfers Healing
POB 1267
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92693-1267
(866) 647-4325
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