Parents gathered on the sand Thursday talked about how Surfers Healing gives their children a chance to discover something they love.Ĭhelsea Pap-Goodwin watched from the sand as her son Cooper rode waves, his second year with the camp. … And that connection has been very comforting.”
“That’s what I would like to instill for families coming down - there’s hope, and with acceptance that you’re not alone. That’s a hard thing to accept for the parents, a pair of scuba diving instructors who share a love for the ocean.īut on this day, Alissa seemed calm as she rested on Paskowitz’s board.Īnd that’s what Paskowitz strives for - a moment of peace, something he hopes for his own son, now 26. “She will run away from the smallest of waves,” Rebecca said. Combine that with the saltwater that itches her when it dries on her skin, or the funny feeling of the sand and seaweed, and beach days became out of the question. “I’m terrified,” Rebecca, of Mission Viejo, confessed.Īlissa was 3 when she was knocked down by a wave at Aliso Creek Beach. Rebecca and Kevin Tiffany watched nervously as their daughter Alissa went farther and farther out in the water, Thursday, laying on the board as Paskowitz paddled down the ocean where other volunteers and kids sat waiting for waves. One big lesson he’s learned over the years: It’s as much for the parents as it is for the kids. “The parents are watching their kids do something as simple as normal – doing something any other child can do,” he said. And how many times he’s knocked himself out and how many times we’ve had bloodbaths,” he said. “I show them the scars on his arms from biting himself. He points to his own son, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs about 250 pounds. Paskowitz has heard over and over from parents who don’t think he can handle their children. Seth McElroy, Isaiah’s cousin, has been volunteering since the group started. “Getting to see the smile on these kids’ faces and connect with them, it’s special,” he said. None of it would happen without the volunteers, some of whom show up to help at every camp, Paskowitz said.
“We never wanted a penny for this,” he said. Surfers Healing makes several stops a year throughout the country, recently returning from the East Coast and after the Dana Point event, they head to Hawaii. Since its founding, hundreds of thousands of kids with autism have surfed with the nonprofit. He and Danielle formed Surfers Healing 20 years ago, and vowed to never charge the families who participate each year. “They were doing something just fun and rad. That moment seemed like it lasted a lifetime, and they were happy riding these waves,” he said. “I’d pull myself together and we’d ride waves. Paskowitz was overcome with what he felt from the kids and the stresses of their families, and would have to take breaks, sitting by himself out in the water so he could cry. He instantly saw a difference. Then a friend asked if Paskowitz could take his autistic son out on the water - then another pleaded. “Somehow, they knew exactly how much was in our saving’s account and it wiped us dry,” he said.īut he learned that water helped soothe his son, Isaiah. There were few autism resources available at the time, and the family tried every “therapy” they could find - including one that put kids with autism in the water with dolphins in Key Largo, he said. My dad was an icon of surfing - is it going to put a black mark, a smudge on my dad’s history?” He worried about how having a child who was different would be perceived by those around him. “I worried it would embarrass my family. “I wanted so badly for him to be who I was.” “It took me a while,” said Paskowitz, who now lives in San Juan Capistrano. But Paskowitz and his wife, Danielle, noticed differences in their child, which at first, Paskowitz tried to ignore.
#Goodwin family surf pro
In his younger years, Paskowitz was a pro surfer and when he had his son, he dreamed he’d have a protege to follow in his footsteps.
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