W4C – Surf Therapy for Differently Abled Youth in SA Townships

More about W4C – Surf Therapy for Differently Abled Youth in SA Townships

In South Africa, over two million children have a disability. S.A has a 75% treatment gap for mental health disorders. In 2017, W4C partnered with two schools for autistic learners in the Western and Eastern Cape of South Africa and incorporated Surf Therapy to their educational curriculum. Schools for learners with different abilities face funding challenges from national government and struggle to meet the social and emotional needs of learners. For 6 months, learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder attended twice weekly morning Surf Therapy sessions. Learners attended with teachers and occupational therapists (OT’s), and participated in W4C evidence-based Surf Therapy curriculum. Monthly learning exchanges between W4C coaches, teachers & OT’s built capacity of W4C coaching staff to work with autistic children, and W4C MEL team to adapt W4C curriculum and monitoring tools for this new demographic. A study (shortly to be published) shows improvements in confidence, trust, social interaction, peer relations, and communication: key improvements for a demographic that is socially isolated. The project is now scaling to reach 500 children per week across South Africa.