If the average person can dig the feeling of plunging full force into the cool seawater for a chance to hang ten, imagine what it would feel like for autistic children. One group has made that dream come true at La Jolla Shores Autism Surf Camp, which will take place Aug. 28 to 31.
“This will be the fifth year for the surf camp, and how it started was I was at a fund-raiser for the San Diego Chapter Autism Society and they were talking about how they do this camp every year and they had 15 kids on a waiting list,” said Tammy Anderson-Lee, camp operator. “At the time, I was running a regular surf camp and so I suggested to the president that I could grab all the swim teachers and we could run a surf camp for those autistic kids.”
Eighty autistic children will be included in this year’s five-week run, including the 30 expected at La Jolla Shores. Surfing, boogie-boarding, and beach-themed arts and crafts are just a few of the activities the kids will enjoy.
“Kids with autism pretty much need a one-on-one instructor aide with them, and so what we do is take the swim instructors and we always have some of the behavioral autism specialists from San Diego City School District,” Anderson-Lee said. “We buddy up the staff and specialists with the kids.”
Anderson-Lee, who runs her own Aqua Pros Swim School and has been working with autistic children for many years, cites recent statistics suggesting that autism has increased to one in 166.
Camp attendance increases every year and registration is sent through the San Diego Chapter Autism Society’s newsletter. Parents sign up early because the response is so great, and although the camp usually fills up in one day, the group maintains a waiting list.
“I have partnered up with the autism society, and in cooperation with them we have started the pool PALS (persons with autism learning how to swim) program,” Anderson-Lee said. “We do monthly pizza pool parties at the swim school the second Friday of the month, and we also have one-on-one swim instruction programs for the kids, and they are teamed up with autism specialists who are trained to be swim instructors.”
The group hosts an annual fund-raiser called Splash for Cash, which is a 10-hour swim-a-thon in order to pay for the pizza, the camp staff and swim instructors. Last year they raised $25,000 and were able to include more kids at the camp.
“The goal of the surf camp is to give these kids a chance to do something that they would normally not have the opportunity to experience,” Anderson-Lee said. “Some of these kids can be very challenging to work with, and we want to give the chance to do something that every other kid in San Diego gets to do and that is to surf, swim and enjoy the water.”
This summer, the San Diego Autism Society also offered CAMP I-CAN, a day camp for autistic youngsters ages 6 to 12 who live in San Diego County.
For information on both camps, call (858) 405-6536.
