Heart of Sailing
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A NAUTICAL ADVENTURE FOR SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN |
Sailing has a different connotation to many of us: pleasure, racing, and passage making. To a child with special needs, sailing is a new experience, a freedom and relaxation rarely found in every day life. The mission of Heart of Sailing is to “share the love of sailing by teaching navigational and sailing skills to children with special needs, introducing them to a new educational and therapeutic experience.” George Saidah, from Bloomington, IN and ports around the world has created this foundation. Through dedication and education, George has spread the word. Two sailing days for developmentally challenged children were held at the Surf City Yacht Club in Surf City, NJ. Each child is given a half day of fun both on and off the water along with parents and siblings. Parents, who have found out about the program through word of mouth or on the web site, sign up for a specific time. An orientation is given to each family and life preservers are put on for safety. To a cautious, easily upset child, even this experience may be a traumatic event. But once on the water the change in both children and parents is immediately apparent. Whether mesmerized by the water or intrigued by a new experience, children soon lose themselves to sailing. An article in a local paper piqued interest in the Heart of Sailing Foundation. Along with other boats and volunteers, time and sailing interest is all that is needed to participate in this worthwhile organization. No experience, no training necessary. “White Cap,” owned by the Tuckerton Seaport, was the perfect sailboat to partner with the Heart of Sailing Foundation. Wide, heavy, with cockpit and cabin space to explore, “White Cap” was a hit with all. A minimum crew of four was aboard for each sailing experience. We welcomed and encouraged each participant to enjoy their sail. Our first family was from Piscataway, NJ, having driven two hours south for the experience. A mother, father, five year old twin girls who are special needs children, a seventeen month old baby sister, and an aunt from Peru who did not speak English, accompanied us along with George Saidah. None of the family had ever been aboard a boat before. George talked to the uneasy family for a few minutes giving some safety guidelines and encouraging them to participate in the experience. Lines were cast off and we motored out into Barnegat Bay. Within a minute the children settled down, smiled and began to ask questions about the boat and their surroundings. The twins immediately wanted to help raise the double reefed main, so with one of us holding onto each of them, they climbed onto the cabin top and walked hand over hand along the rails. With both children pulling hard on the halyard the sail came up much to their amazement. They had played a part in their sailing experience, a large step towards self confidence and working with others. As we sailed along the twins became very friendly, actually vying to see who could sit in my lap. Suddenly their surroundings became paramount. Boats, seaweed, colors, clouds, sky, and even a jumping fish caught their attention. It was obvious they were taking in so much. For an hour and a half, the twins explored the boat and took their turns at the tiller. A reality check for me came when the young mother told me she had spent the day before crying in frustration as she often did as the mother of three under five, two with special needs. “Are you relaxing?” I asked. She smiled and sighed deeply, enjoying the motion of the boat, her face up to the sun for a few rays. An hour and a half sail is typical. By then the children were hugging and kissing me. We had spent most of our time on the bow feeling the wind, one or both in my arms, chattering as only five year olds can. I could finally tell Vitoria from Rachel – identical, born thirteen minutes apart. Back at the dock, George presented each child with a sailing medal and personal certificate. “White Cap – Tuckerton Seaport” shirts were given out. After lunch with some of the families, we were all set for our afternoon session with Heart of Sailing children. George Saidah’s love of sailing began as a child in Lebanon where he spent time on the Mediterranean. Settling with his family in Indiana, George started Heart of Sailing in 2004, now devoting fulltime to the project. “It is my way to return to the community. I have a cousin who has special needs. Sailing can be beneficial to special needs children,” George says. He goes all over the country, with boats owned by the Foundation or volunteered in places like Dana Point, CA; Houston, Texas’ Panama City, FL; Bloomington, IN and Indianapolis, IN. The New Jersey group is beginning its second year. “We are looking for people who are comfortable with children and parents of special needs children and love to sail.” Many children “just want to be included in society. Many are continually judged or blamed, and do not know where to fit.” Socialization while sailing seems to come naturally: children get to touch, feel, and smell a new experience. Andy Matthews of Brant Beach, NJ is the dynamo, enthusiastic NJ coordinator. With a smile on his face, a joke a minute, and food for hungry participants, Andy is a natural at making everyone feel comfortable around the water. Linda Fiddle accompanied us on one of the excursions. She is director of The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation dedicated to promoting recreational activities for teenagers and adults living with autism. Impressed with the dedication of all involved, Linda has given $5,000.00 to promote the New Jersey day sails. All registration is done through the Heart of Sailing Foundation web site. Scheduling is set up with the volunteers across the country. Along with the personal touch, George Saidah does the Foundation work on his computer, easily matching families with sailors, continually providing sailing experiences for special needs children around the country. Most parents discovered Heart of Sailing through the internet as I learned during our afternoon session with a few families joining us. Sitting on the bow of our boat mothers compared stories about their special needs children. Discussed were the benefits of a gluten-free diet, shots and speech therapy. They debated whether their children were pushed too fast or held back, the merits of types of education and subsistence. It is evident that all fight hard for their children’s rights and progress. Most parents are continually working for solutions. Success is measured slowly with special needs children. Why are so many children now born with autism and other development problems they debated? Hormones, dyes, antibiotics, and all sorts of chemicals are now part of our daily food. Older mothers and in-vitro fertilization can be causes they thought, along with certain vaccinations given to children. Pre-mature babies are now living, developmental problems common among them. It is now estimated that one in 150 children are born with problems, a staggering number. “Playing with nature may be a big part of all these problems,” George Saidah concurs. A mother (a test pilot from Pomona, NJ) is afraid of flying her autistic son Mitchell on a commercial airline to Detroit. She has an appointment to see a renowned speech therapist. Mitchell had been gently lifted onto the boat kicking, hitting and screaming. Within a minute he was sitting in the lap of soft spoken volunteer Charlie Howe from Surf City, NJ learning to move the tiller. The change in his demeanor was nothing short of miraculous. He laughed, pointed to birds, and seemed thrilled by the whole experience. New experiences can cause immediate breakdown and tantrums in developmentally challenged children. In the case of Anna and Lewis, the siblings knew about pirates and sailing. Having seen the latest movies, they could relate easily to the experience, turning from shy children on land to full of life on the water. Their interest in the sailing adventure was accentuated by a few lines of sea chanteys and sailing songs. Sailing Therapy Benefits are listed on the Heart of Sailing web site. They include social interaction, teamwork, communication and comprehension, motor skills and coordination, confidence and self-esteem, environmental awareness, relaxation, concentration/focus and adventure/exploration/imagination. Donating time to give children with special needs just a few of the above is a worthwhile cause. Involvement with Heart of Sailing is easy – one only has to have a love of sailing and children. Having a boat and volunteer crew to offer for the experience is a major plus. At the end of the day it was debatable who had gotten more out of the Heart of Sailing Foundation experience: the children, the families, or the volunteers. “Sometimes we get more than we give,” a crew member was heard to say. Always eloquent, volunteer Father Frank Crumbaugh of Holy Innocents Episcopal Church in Beach Haven summed up his Heart of Sailing experience with three thoughts:
SIDEBAR: Heart of Sailing Foundation www.heartofsailing.org
The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation
Gretchen F. Coyle |