My son Alex is on the autism spectrum. He's a high-functioning autistic, but that doesn't mean it's always easy. Raising an autistic child can be very difficult -- you're always wondering. Is this going to produce a meltdown?

But Alex has always loved the ocean. In 2004, when he was three, we moved to New Jersey, about three miles away from the beach. A week or so after we'd settled in, we took him in a jogging stroller to the beach. He wanted to get out of the stroller, since he saw us walking in the water and wanted to try it too. One of my fondest memories will always be taking him in the water (up to his knees), and standing with him while he laughed in delight.

So in 2005 my wife announced she had found a surf camp for him. Camp? For Alex? I didn't know how well he would cope with camp. It was a one-day thing, she explained. It was http://www.surfers-healing.org

Surfing? For a four-year-old? An autistic four-year-old, no less? I confess I had my doubts. I didn't know if he could handle it, or if the staff knew how to handle autistic kids.

Surfers Healing was formed by Izzy Paskowitz. Like myself, he is the father of an autistic boy. He is a surfer and took his son Isaiah out surfing. From my own experience , I can well see how this could be. Fortunately for hundreds of autistic children and their families, he developed this into a full-blown surf camp. Surfers Healing goes around the country, holding surf camps where they take autistic kids surfing. The result is simply a magical day that I, and my son, will always remember.

The surf camps take place at a local beach. In 2005, it was at Sandy Hook. In 2006, it was at Long Branch. They are completely, 100% free to the children and their families. (We attended a benefit the night before, and would be glad to strongly support this charity -- and it is a legitimate charity.)

Obviously, you'll have to bring along a towel, possibly a change of clothes, and the kid will need bathing trunks. Both my children (Alex and his little sister, who at age two doesn't seem to be autistic) have inherited their mom's gothy complexion, so they need sunscreen or else they'll scorch beet red in about two minutes.

Surfers Healing provides surfers who are trained to deal with autistic children. They assign you a surf time, and you bring your kid down to the water. Surprisingly, they do a pretty good job of sticking to their schedule. They supply snacks for before (or after) and life jackets. The life jackets have straps on the back, so that the surfers can grab the kid and hold them up. Then, they take them out into the water, get them up on the board, and when a good wave comes in, along they go!

We felt very welcome at Surfers Healing. Both times so far, the surfer who took Alex out stopped to greet him, and honestly seemed to enjoy what they were doing. No one seemed to judge us or sniff. The people behind Surfers Healing love what they do, and it shows. Alex traded high-fives with his surfer, and out he went.

Alex was raring to go. He got right on the surfboard, and went out three times each time. On one occasion he wiped out, but it didn't seem to bother him in the slightest. (True, he came back to the beach blanket and flopped to the ground in exhaustion, but he was four and five each time respectively, so I'll give him a pass on that.)

You have to sign up QUICK for surfers healing. We signed up in April for September surfing. It was only open for about a week before filling up. MT has Surfers Healing set to one of her home pages (with the new IE 7.) When Alex sees it, he will usually shout, "WOW, Surfers Healing, that's cool!"

And I agree with him.

Surfers Healing provides magic. That's really the only way to say it. Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so perhaps try this link:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v654/grandhighpoobah/alex_surfing3.jpg

If there is a downside to Surfers Healing it's only that it's only once a year, and they cannot always take non-autistic siblings. This is not a big deal right now, since I am not about to send a two-year-old girl out surfing. But in years to come, she may want to join in. To their credit, Surfers Healing will try to take siblings if time permits, and their purpose is to provide autistic kids with surf camps.

I'm proud of my boy. And I know he's looking forward to next September.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): free
Type of Camp: Outdoor
Best Suited For: Other
Camper to Counselor Ratio: Wall-to-wall counselors
Financial Aid Available: No