The Bon Bon Gazette: POAC Autism Surfing at Brick Beach 7/7/09

Friday, July 10, 2009

POAC Autism Surfing at Brick Beach 7/7/09

Despite a stressful day and getting injured at school, Alex was very excited to be able to go surfing. We are spoiled living at the Jersey shore to have great beaches and opportunities for our kids with autism to get out there and experience the waves. Alex loves the water - especially the ocean. And, with the weather having not been all that great lately the ocean water is currently icy cold. It doesn't stop him. We had rain during the week and the skies were looking a bit ominous with some thunderstorm warnings. So, we were lucky that the event was still able to take place with just a little bit of rain on and off.

On Tuesday July 7th, 2009 - POAC (Parents of Autistic Children) in conjunction with Brick Recreation/Challenger league sponsored this fun Autism surf event. They had a bounce house set up, refreshments, and plenty of surfers and lifeguards all set up on Brick municipal beach #3. Siblings were welcome to join in on the fun. The kids all got T-shirts and a medal -- awesome!

My daughter spent her time playing in the sand and also in the bouncy house. The surfers asked her if she wanted a turn on the board, but she was still too afraid. Maybe next year!

Alex, on the other hand - basically can't get enough of the ocean. Fat lip and all - he went out in the icy surf wearing nothing but Wall-E trunks and a lifevest. First they did a lesson up in the sand where he got to stand on the board and lift his arms, as well as pretend to paddle out. When he got into the water he did a pretty good job of balancing and also lifting his arms up when the wave came in. Mind you - they basically had the board resting on the sand and then the lifeguards/instructors lift it up when the wave comes in. After a few times Alex commanded them to "Paddle out" which wasn't exactly happening with the rough waves or this particular event. This was the same reaction that he had last year (wow, look how small he was then) because he is such a thrill seeker and loves the water so much he just wants to get right in there. Some of the kids were going out on the back of a waverunner but I felt that the water seemed really too rough and the skies a bit too grey... maybe next year for Alex with the waverunner!

Times like these I feel so blessed to live near the ocean and so lucky to have a great organizations such as POAC and Brick Challenger providing events for kids like Alex.

Thanks to POAC and Brick Challenger for the great day.
2009 Brick Beach POAC Surf: