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How Los Angeles brings stoke and surf to children with disabilities
The PlayLA Adaptive Para Surf clinics are part of the city's effort to expand opportunities for youth with disabilities.
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Two years ago, 11-year-old Soma joined a long legacy of Venice Beach surfers.
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How Los Angeles brings stoke and surf to children with disabilities
He’s progressed from riding on his stomach to standing upright and has set his sights on a bigger goal— getting barreled.
“If it comes — a giant wave — I wanna surf not on top, but… in the wave,” Soma said.
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On a recent Saturday, Soma, who has autism, was one of 20 kids in the lineup as part of the PlayLA Adaptive Para Surf Clinic.
The program is part of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks’ effort to expand opportunities for youths with disabilities.
“We've seen the benefits of kids who've been told, ‘You can't do this,'” said Kelly Caldwell, principal recreation supervisor for the Play LA program. “Giving them a place to play, it just, it changes their world.”
Soma’s mom Fumi Suzuki signed him up, in part because her husband read that children with autism are at higher risk of drowning than their peers. Suzuki said she’s seen her son become more confident and she’s bonded with the other parents standing on the shore.
“I [feel] really grateful for this community,” Fumi Suzuki said. “It's like a family.”
How adaptive surf came to LA
After Los Angeles agreed nearly a decade ago to host the 2028 Olympics, organizers committed $160 million to local youth sports. LA28 has contributed $60 million to PlayLA since 2018. The International Olympic Committee also chipped in, according to Recreation and Parks.
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Los Angeles Recreation and Parks staff use a beach wheelchair to help Penny Pedersen move from the beach to her surfboard.
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Greta Pederson, left, and sister Penny Pedersen, right, catch a wave at Venice Beach.
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The money helps subsidize programs for low-income families, and pays for staffing and equipment for new sports, including table tennis, fencing and archery.
The funding has also helped expand the city’s programs for youths with disabilities. Adaptive youth sports include swimming, volleyball, skateboarding, blind soccer and track and field.
Three years ago, the city partnered with the Challenged Athletes Foundation to host the first surf clinics for youths with disabilities.
“The goal of this program is to make sure that everyone has access,” said Adaptive Sports Facility Director Erika Luna Diaz. “We want to make sure that there [are] no limitations.”
Each participant in the PlayLA Adaptive Para Surf Clinic is paired with at least one instructor. The kids rotate in and out of the surf over the four-hour duration of each session.
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A note on the language
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Los Angeles calls their program adaptive para surf. The goal is to teach basic ocean safety and surfing skills to youth regardless of ability. You may see similar programs called adapted surf or surf therapy.
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Native Hawaiians brought surfing to California in the late 19th century, but the sport has not always been accessible to all.
Segregation limited access to beaches and pools for communities of color. Early surfing competitions marginalized women and territorial locals harassed and intimidated newcomers.
While the sport has become more inclusive, there are still challenges, including polluted beaches and a lack of accessible beach parking.
Bringing stoke and safety to all
The first goal, explained instructor Evan MacCarthy, is that the surfers are safe. Participants learn to never turn their back on the ocean and protect their head in the surf.
“A very close second goal is stoke,” MacCarthy said.
Surf instructor Alexander Lewin lets go of the board as Henry Pedersen catches a wave.
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The city pays for all the required equipment, including surfboards, wetsuits to insulate participants against the cold and brightly colored rashguards that help identify the kids in the water. Families are not required to disclose their child’s disability, but if they choose to do so, it can help the program plan for their individual needs. For example, there’s a wheelchair with puffy inflated tires to move kids with limited mobility from their personal chair to their boards.
While the program is free to families, between staff and equipment, it costs the city about $291 for each child to participate.
The ratio of instructors to students in the city’s surf program for youths without disabilities is 1 to 5, but in the para surf clinic, there’s at least one instructor assigned to every participant. Additional staff, called “water watchers,” help monitor the kids in the surf.
“Everybody has their own specific needs and wants,” said instructor Alexander Lewin. “I think here it's our job to kind of match up that need and want with an instructor who can fulfill that.”
“I love bringing stoke to the place, so that's my job here,” Lewin added.
Sign up for adaptive sports
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How it works: There are 10 adaptive sports offered throughout the year: wheelchair basketball, para surf, blind soccer, swim, equestrian, track & field, skateboarding, tennis, volleyball and archery.
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Who’s eligible: Youth ages 5-17 regardless of physical ability, income or immigration status. (Some aquatics programs begin at age 7 and surfing at age 9)
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Cost: Many activities, including surfing, are free while others cost $10 a season.
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Get updates: In addition to their website, PlayLA adaptive sports posts updates on:
A day at the beach
The PlayLA Adaptive Para Surf Clinic sets up at the end of Venice Beach's access mat, a mesh net that provides a firmer surface for wheelchairs and other mobility aids.
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The Rec and Parks crew arrives at 6:30 a.m. to set up tents, breakfast and lay down plastic track to help wheelchair users reach the shore.
The approximately 25 members include surf instructors and a dedicated lifeguard.
Families arrive a couple hours later. After the youths sign in, they wriggle into wetsuits with the help of a staff member.
Alex, 10, doesn’t like the feel of the neoprene against his skin, so instead he wears the rashguard over his swimtrunks.
Alex, like others with autism, can become overwhelmed with certain sensations, sounds and visuals. For example, the whistling and yelling common in other youth sports programs.
“It's like an alarm that goes off in his head and he can't think logically and he's looking at you, but he can't hear and process the instructions,” said his mom, Artemis D. LAist agreed not the publish the family's last name to protect their privacy.
Here she doesn’t have to explain why her son needs an alternative — it’s freely offered.
“That's the kind of thing that I'm so thankful for,” she said.
A PlayLA staff member fits Anna with a wetsuit for the first time.
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Next, the kids pair off with a surf instructor and at least one other person who keeps an eye on the participants in the water.
For first-timers, like 9-year-old Anna, the lessons start on the sand.
Instructor Sophie Holdorff shows her how to lay on the board on her belly, and windmill her arms with cupped hands to paddle through the water.
Surf instructor Sophie Holdorff teaches Anna the basics of riding a surf board. "I do this work to make sure that people know how to be safe and comfortable and confident in the ocean," Holdorff said. "All of that builds stoke and empowerment and courage."
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Her mom, Kristine, saw the clinic posted online several months ago.
“ I couldn't believe my eyes,” Kristine said. “I always thought surfing is for, you know, special people, athletes.”
LAist agreed not to use Kristine and Anna’s last time to protect their privacy. Kristine said her daughter struggles with developmental challenges and post traumatic stress disorder.
“Things like [surfing] are gonna bring her joy,” Kristine said. “Maybe bring her back to normalcy and hopefully help her feel better and catch up with her peers emotionally and physically.”
Anna catches her first wave within half an hour of arriving at the beach.
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Less than 10 minutes later, Anna walks into the water holding Sophie’s hand.
“It's nerve wracking for me, but I'm getting used to it,” Kristine said.
Kristine watched as the instructors encouraged Anna to widen her stance on the board.
“Anna is actually following directions, which is something that she normally has a problem with,” Kristine said. “I see that sometimes she is getting sidetracked, but they bring her back to where she needs to be.”
Anna stands up for the first time. Holdorff, left, later helps her widen her stance and open up her hips to better balance on the board.
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When Anna returns to the shore, her instructor Holdorff shows her how to dig for sandcrabs as the water recedes from the sand.
Anna’s eyes scan the ground for the v-shaped indents in the sand.
“I love them,” Anna gasped as she holds up the squirming, gray crustacean. “Can I take them home?”
Anna’s preoccupation with the surf and the sandcrabs also gave Kristine, and her mother, a rare moment of calm.
“For her to do one thing for such a long period of time without getting distracted and running — it's running away mostly — it's awesome,” Kristine said.
Anna, right, also learns how to find sand crabs (Emerita Analoga) beneath v-shaped marks in the sand. Her first reaction? "So cute."
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Physical and social benefits of ‘surf therapy’
Research shows that youths with disabilities who participate in surf programs can improve their balance, coordination, strength and endurance.
But there are also social benefits, said University of Rhode Island education professor Emily Clapham. She’s studied the outcomes of youths with disabilities who participate in surf programs for the last 16 years.
Surfing as a group creates the camaraderie of team sports without the competition.
“There's no winner, there's no loser,” Clapham said. ”Everybody's participating and trying the best they can. Everybody has a different goal in mind and surfing really enables that to happen.”
Penny, left in the red wetsuit, Greta, and Henry Pedersen, right, catch a wave together. Los Angeles Recreation and Parks hosted eight para surf clinics between June and September 2025.
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For example, at Venice Beach, one child works on overcoming his fear of the water while another gets tips on their stance.
“You really want the child or individual to be able to do as much as they can independently,” Clapham said. “Because that's really where that empowerment comes from.”
Clapham said there’s a child in her program who enjoys sitting on the board backwards to watch the wave break behind him.
“Who are we to say that's not the correct way to surf?” Clapham said. ”It's really a beautiful thing to see all the different variations.”
There's no winner, there's no loser. Everybody's participating and trying the best they can. Everybody has a different goal in mind and surfing really enables that to happen.
— Emily Clapham, surf therapy researcher
Clapham has noticed the rhythmic motion of the waves and white noise of the waves soothes children with autism who can get overwhelmed by sensations, sounds and sights.
“It really helps them to calm down and to be able to bring your body down to a relaxed state,” Clapham said. “Now your brain is open, you can learn because you're not in a state of survival mode.”
Though there’s no count of surfing programs for people with disabilities nationwide, Clapham said she’s seen an increase in recent years and there’s now an international organization dedicated to surf therapy research and professional development.
Austen Ramirez demonstrates another way to ride the waves.
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"These kids are, are so much more, their ability is so much more than, than what I think society assumes," said surf instructor Evan MacCarthy, right.
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Help grow the adaptive surf program
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The Los Angeles Rec and Parks program fills up every year. One barrier to expansion is a lack of instructors. “We are actively always looking for staff to hire and to join our team,” Luna Diaz said.
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Find a job: L.A. parks and aquatics programs are currently hiring.
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Volunteer: If you are interested in volunteering to support the program, email citywide.aquatics@lacity.org
Meeting kids where they’re at
The vast majority of the participants smile nonstop while in the water, but there are a few meltdowns throughout the morning.
On his first wave, Alex jumps off his surfboard in shallow water and tweaks his knee.
His mom, Artemis D., the clinic staff and a lifeguard don’t see signs of a more serious injury, but Alex refuses to get back in the water.
The instructors tell Alex he can come back when he’s ready.
“They don't stress him out,” Artemis said. “They don't make him feel more overwhelmed than the world already feels.”
Alex, 10, shows off a sand crab he caught while taking a break from surfing.
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Alex flips over several of the sand crabs to check for the masses of orange eggs that some females carry.
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She said in other recreation programs and at school her son’s behavior can be misunderstood as defiance rather than overwhelm.
“He gets in trouble a lot,” Artemis said. “Sometimes he doesn't even know what he's doing wrong. If someone would take the time to explain, maybe he would learn.”
Students with disabilities are often disciplined for defiant, disruptive or disorderly behavior at higher rates than their peers. An analysis from the Hechinger Report found in California the rate of suspensions for these infractions is twice as high for students with disabilities than those without.
“We finally found an activity he could do and not get kicked out of or yelled at, or feel different,” Artemis said of the surfing program.
“We just want these kids to have the absolute best time of their lives today,” said instructor Alexander Lewin. “It ranges different for each kid. Some kids, it's literally just get in the wave and ride it on your stomach and some of these kids, they are fully into popping up and almost going sideways on a wave. It's just all the levels in between.”
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Alex tells his mom he wants to go home, but is distracted when a French bulldog, his favorite for their squishy faces, walks by and lets him scratch his head.
He hunts for sand crabs, rolls around in the sand and talks to his friend Soma, who attended his birthday the week before. They met through the surf clinic. Another friendly French bulldog walks by.
Artemis said she isn’t worried about judgment from the other families.
“The kids don't stop and stare because it's like, ‘OK, well I know what he's feeling because that happens to me sometimes,’” she said.
Less than an hour before the program ends for the day, Alex gets back in the water to test out a tandem surfboard.
“It was good to see him not give up today,” said his instructor, Patrick Caldwell. “I think that it was a moment of growth for him.”
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