Surf’s Up With Charlie
Last year Charlie had his first surfing lesson. He swam out into the ocean with a 9-foot-surfboard attached to his ankle and was able, after coaxing, to get into a kneeling position, hands grasping the sides of the board. What I remember most from that first lesson was not the long, lazy rides he had after the surfing teacher gave him a good push and Charlie rode the board in like a boat. It was the way Charlie and the surfing teacher, automatically ducked under each wave almost at the same moment, and how Charlie was completely nonchalant about swimming with the surfboard attached to him.
Jim scheduled another lesson for Charlie on Wednesday afternoon at 4pm, with the same teacher. I watched Jim and the teacher out in the waves with Charlie, pulling him up on the yellow surfboard, and took some photos: The one above is Charlie kneeling on the board. Last year, it took him the better part of his lesson to get to that point, and this year that happened in the first couple minutes—-after which, it occurred to me, put away the camera and go out to see Charlie surf.
I’m not a swimmer like Charlie, who’s so clearly much more at home in the water than on land. I only learned to swim so I could follow him around the community center’s indoor pool when he was 7 and I had to keep him in the one lane allotted to families, away from the lap swimmers and the ladies aerobics class. He was confident in the deep end before I was; most unlike me, he always smiled at some point in swimming. After splashing around with halting strokes, I started to learn why and to like (rather than to fear) the sensation of being in water over your head. In fact, I now look forward to swimming at the YMCA pool back home and here in the ocean, though finding myself almost over my head in pounding waves yesterday calling out encouragement to Charlie as he tried to stand on the surfboard was a little more than I had bargained for.
The teacher had told us that, earlier in the year, he’d taught autistic students from a local school to surf. “None of them would stand up, though,” he noted. We suggested that Charlie’d have a better sense of what to do if the teacher modeled it for Charlie and so he tilted Charlie off the board (which Charlie loved) and lay down, knelt, and tried to stand up, but a wave knocked him in the water.
Lie down. Kneel. Stand up! —- the last step is definitely the hardest and at first Charlie told us “I need break!”. He was kneeling on the board and the teacher gave him a good push and Charlie enjoyed a fabulous ride in, and intentionally fell off the board just as it slowed down. He swam back out and got on again and knelt, and started to smile big, and after several more waves, one food went down on the board and Charlie pulled himself halfway up. Another time, he planted both feet down on the board while still holding on with his hands, face up to the sun: “Nah, now we have to start again,” the teacher laugh and dunked Charlie (laughing) into a wave.
(Yes, if you dunked me into a wave I would not be laughing.)
This continued for several more waves for the better part of an hour. Afterwards, the teacher got Charlie to practice the routine of lying on the board, kneeling, and standing up. Charlie had goosebumps all up and down his back and pulled a towel around himself as Jim spoke to the teacher.
We’ll be doing Surfers Healing (here’s WRAL on “surfing therapy” for autistic children) for the first time in early September. And Jim’s already made plans for at least one more lesson with the teacher. And who knows, maybe the time will come when we’ll be pricing surfboards.
Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, disabilities blog, disability, Family, family blog, Health, jersey shore, New Jersey, ocean, Parenting, pdd-nos, surfing, WaterRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Charlisms, New Jersey, Sports, Water
12 opinions for Surf’s Up With Charlie
Casdok
Aug 21, 2008 at 2:48 am
Well done Charlie!!
Xhristopher
Aug 21, 2008 at 8:29 am
My 5 year old son is living with autism, our local pool told me about a summer surf camp they do every year for autistic kids. My son is too young this summer but when he is 8 they will take him.I am looking forward to two summers from now for his sake!
He is a strong swimmer, though he has his very own way to swim and he only goes into the deep end, scary at first (for me) but once I got used to his unorthodox method of swimming something else occurred to me:
Maybe his personal method of propulsion (One of our lifegurds gave me that jewel) is a window on how his mind works?
The more I think about it the more it makes sense to me. Since he was about two I knew something was different about him. At first I thought he had a hearing problem because he didn’t respond when he was called by name the way my older kids had. It was later on that he was diagnosed as being on the ASD spectrum.
So I started observing him a bit more closely, he won’t speak unless he really wants something, yet he can write the entire alphabet. (I have only seen him do this at the playgrounds with sidewalk chalk). He writes left handed, from bottom to top and then from left to right.
He has his very own personal method of interpreting and engaging the world. (forgive me if this sounds naive it has been a huge revelation to me). He is very bright and his diagnosis of autism is on the “high functioning” end.
I have always taken great care not to hold him to a different standard than I hold my other kids. (within reason) In my home he is expected to keep to bedtimes, brush his teeth, sit at the table to eat and clean up after himself.
MORE LATER I have an appointment now…bbl
Leila
Aug 21, 2008 at 11:48 am
That sounds like so much fun for both Charlie and you! Next time you should take a camera with a powerful zoom so we can see Charlie surfing up close!!! : )
Linda
Aug 21, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Charlie is becoming quite the surfer dude. Surf’s up!
MomtoJBG
Aug 21, 2008 at 12:51 pm
That’s amazing! Sounds as if you sound a great teacher, but also sounds like Charlie is a natural.
B
Aug 21, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Has Charlie ever tried to boogie board? I bet he would love that, plus they are not expensive.
Bonnie
Aug 21, 2008 at 5:21 pm
That is wonderful! Good going Charlie!
Kristina Chew, PhD
Aug 21, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Been boogie-boarding for the past couple of years—-took a photo, but do need that zoom lens!
@Xhristopher, thanks for writing about your son—Chariie swims in an idiosyncratic mix of sort of breast stroke/doggy paddle/flipping onto his back/dropping down to the bottom. And all very graceful! I am curious to know more about your thoughts on how his “personal method of propulsion” might suggest something about his mind!
The Day That Never Comes? Never!
Aug 21, 2008 at 8:14 pm
[…] that have come and are emerging: More words or just communication, comprehension; a boy learning to surf and trying to stand on a surfboard—-this being the boy who took a long long time to walk (16 […]
The Day That Never Comes? Never!
Aug 21, 2008 at 8:14 pm
[…] that have come and are emerging: More words or just communication, comprehension; a boy learning to surf and trying to stand on a surfboard—-this being the boy who took a long long time to walk (16 […]
hellokittiemama
Aug 22, 2008 at 11:09 pm
Yay for surfing charlie!! That is awesome. My little guy really loves the surf too. Looking forward to SH in a couple of weeks but nervous because I just got the AFSNJ confirmation for the beach bash and they estimate 2,000 people to attend which overwhelms me.. can’t even imagine how Alex will be.. well, I know he’ll probably be a royal mess with that big of a crowd.
Just Add Water!
Aug 27, 2008 at 3:44 pm
[…] the door to try to change their schedules for fall classes and remembering that just last week was Charlie’s surfing lesson, I was pretty pleased to note this film about Clay Marzo, a 19-year-old surfer who has […]
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