The Surfers for Autism organization holds events to teach surfing to people with autism and other disabilities. Their goal is to promote inclusion and awareness. The author volunteered at two SFA events, assisting over 400 participants. They observed a wide range of abilities and helped participants learn to surf. The experience reinforced the author's interest in working with people with disabilities.

1. Surfers for autism
Leigh-Ann Herzog
April 22, 2012
Community Connections

2. S.F.A’s Mission
The Surfers For Autism
mission is to unlock the
potential of people with
developmental
disabilities, support
advocacy for autism issues
and scientific research.
Our focus is to eliminate
stigma through public
awareness and education
and to unite communities
through volunteerism.

3. History
• First event was held on the north side of the pier in
Deerfield Beach, Fl.
Raised $10,000 to benefit autism associated charities.
• Grew to host several events in several locations around
the world.
• Most events reach 200 participants and double that
amount in volunteers.
• Some events have raised close to $20,000.

4. The Need for Awareness
• S.F.A wanted to show the
community just how
awesome these kids truly
are. They achieve that goal
by teaching the kids to
stand up on a surfboard and
ride the waves all the way
to the shore line.
• I fulfilled my required 15
hours at two separate
events.

5. How S.F.A was ran
• Each volunteer was given a lime green wristband so
they could be easily identified as a volunteer.
Each participant was given either a red, blue, orange or
white wristband.
• There was a different colored flag for each color group
that matched participants wristband.
• Once flag was raised, depending on the color, that
meant it was that colored wristbands turn to go.
• There was 50 participants in each group and each
“session” lated for 30 minutes.

6. How S.F.A ran cont’d ...
• There would be groups of 2-4
volunteers for each
participant.
The “master instructor”
would show the participant
how to paddle and stand up
on the board.
• Once the participant felt
comfortable we’d take them
into the water and surf!

7. Participant Demographics
• S.F.A serviced children as young as 4 years old and
young adults from all different backgrounds.
Since this was a free event everyone was welcome and
able to afford it!
• Most participants were autistic although some had
other disabilities to such as, Down Syndrome.
There were 200 participants at each event that I
attended so 400 persons with disabilities were serviced!

8. I.D.E.A
• Autism means a developmental disability significantly
affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and
social interaction, generally evident before age three,
that adversely affects a child’s educational
performance.
• Other characteristics often associated with autism are
engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped
movements, resistance to environmental change or
change in daily routines, and unusual responses to
sensory experiences.

9. Service in Action

10. Reflection
• My initial thoughts about this opportunity was that I
was excited!
My feelings after completing my community
connections hours are reaffirmed that this is the right
field for me :)
• The experience that had the most impact was when
one of the participants didn’t want to do anything we
asked him to do.

11. Course Connections
• The course I was completing this assignment for is
Introduction to Special Education.
• The experiences that I had will help to inform my
future professional work because I’ll keep in mind to
remember that this person with a disability is a person
first and they just have a disability they aren’t defined
by that disability.

12. Course Topics
• Autism Spectrum Disorders
“The key word in the term ASD is spectrum, which implies similar characteristics but great variance in the
actual behavioral patterns exhibited.” (p.406)
• During my time that I spent with these remarkable individuals I got to see a range of the severity of their
disability.
• Collaboration
Such as pairing a student with autism with one who does not have autism.
• During the event all participants had to be paired with volunteers so that the volunteers could show them what
to do to ensure their safety.
• Partnerships with Families and Communities
In this section it said parents often feel cautious when their child with autism act out and there are special
groups to help parents feel more at ease with this.
• During the event if you saw a child act out you would never see the look of embarrassment or fear on a parents
face but they looked so comfortable being surrounded by families going through the same thing.

13. Civic Engagement
• Volunteerism is a great way to show not only the kids
who have autism but also the family that there are
people who care.
When you do something good for the community, no
matter how long it took or how hard it made you
sweat, you always feel good about helping the
community and the community is also so grateful to
you.
• I think service learning is great because not only are
you learning but your helping someone at the same
time.

14. Civic Engagement Cont’d ..
• I loved this experience so much that I am planning on
volunteering at more S.F.A events on my own!
• I would encourage teachers as well as students to
embrace service learning because there are some thing
that can’t be taught in the classroom through a lecture.
By experiencing these things first hand you really get a
sense of what your future career will be like.

15. Final Thoughts
• I loved that I had the opportunity to share such a
special day with these children and their families. I love
knowing that I made a difference in a child’s life just by
pushing them on a surfboard!
• My future career plans are to work with kids with
varying exceptionalities in a high school setting. Oh
and to continue volunteering at more S.F.A events for
years to come :)