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On April 2, World Autism Awareness Day is celebrated, a little recognized disorder, as there are few institutions to care for minors who suffer from it. In South Africa, 2% of the population is believed to be on the autism spectrum and Waves for Change works with dozens of children who have autism.
A surf therapy. That is the main purpose of Waves for Change (waves for change, in Spanish), an organization in South Africa that has been working with children since 2009. Although its objective is help children who have been exposed to multiple traumas and they do not have access to mental health services, one of the groups they work with is young people with autism.
“Autistic children have sensory challenges, they are very sensitive to things like hearing the ocean or feeling the water when it is very cold, the sand under their feet,” explained to France 24 Nicola van der Merwe, director of learning and assessment of Waves for Change.
Therefore, rather than teaching them to surf, the intention is that they do a deep meditation for an hour before entering the sea. The exercises include activities such as listening carefully to sounds and breathing. Aviwe Funani, the manager of Programs, Policies and Defense of the same organization, indicated that this is how they serve 1,700 children with the free program.
Waves for Change works in five locations in South Africa (Masiphumelele, Monwabisi, Lavender Hill, Port Elizabeth and East London) and they are also in Harper in southern Liberia. However, it is not only there that there are young people who suffer from autism spectrum disorders.
In fact, approximately one in 100 children worldwide has autism. This disorder is characterized by difficulties in social interaction, repetitive behaviors and especially because those who have it develop abilities and interests in specific aspects. On April 2, World Autism Awareness Day is commemorated, precisely to combat all the stigmatizations that the disorder has.
“The rate of autism in all regions of the world is high and the lack of understanding has strong repercussions on individuals, their families and communities”, ensures the United Nations. The international body even specifies that stigmatization and discrimination “continue to be the main obstacles to diagnosis and treatment.”
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source https://pledgetimes.com/world-autism-day-south-african-ngo-gives-surf-lessons-as-therapy-to-those-who-suffer-from-it/
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