Children with Autism Hit the Surf

Happy Easter, Happy Passover . . . hope I haven't missed anything. This is a wonderful story from Juno Beach, Fla., a town I covered many moons ago as a reporter for the Palm Beach Post. Wish they had this back then; would have been a great assignment. Though I do remember covering a sunrise Easter service on the beach in Jupiter, not far from Juno Beach. Be sure to watch the video. Enjoy.

JUNO BEACH, Fla. -- The smiles say it all, 200 autistic children experienced the joys of surfing with the help of volunteer surfers.
The kids say that it's, "so fun. It's like a party."
Each year Surfers for Autism puts on events along the coast of Florida and Georgia to help kids with autism. The goal is to change their lives simply by teaching them to catch a wave.

Surfing Helping Youngsters on the Spectrum

As the number of children with autism mushrooms, so too does the list of therapies for reaching the baffling world in which they live. From horseback riding to hyperbaric chambers, the methods are as diverse as the symptoms of autism itself.
But here's a therapy that surprises even the parents of autistic kids: surfing.
"When he caught his first wave, you should have seen him," said Robyn Serafine of Deerfield Beach, whose autistic 11-year-old son, Charlie Reilly, has limited verbal skills. "He was squealing and laughing — it was pure enjoyment. You could hear him 150 yards away."
Charlie first participated in a "Surfers for Autism" event last year in South Florida, where the nonprofit began in late 2007. On Saturday, surf instructors are bringing the action to Cocoa Beach for the first time. Already, 100 kids with autism have been signed up by their families.