{"id":72299,"date":"2016-07-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-07-12T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/surfs-up-for-uri-graduate-student-bringing-surf-therapy-program-to-australia\/"},"modified":"2016-07-12T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-07-12T00:00:00","slug":"surfs-up-for-uri-graduate-student-bringing-surf-therapy-program-to-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2016\/07\/surfs-up-for-uri-graduate-student-bringing-surf-therapy-program-to-australia\/","title":{"rendered":"Surf\u2019s up for 溏心vlog免费B站 graduate student bringing surf therapy program to Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I., July 12, 2016\u2014Surf\u2019s up, mate. In a few days, Kelli Hingerton will be teaching children with disabilities how to hang 10 in Australia.<\/p>\n

Hingerton, a 21-year-old graduate student at the 溏心vlog免费B站, will launch a surf therapy program for students at the Darnanup Primary School and three other nearby schools in South Bunbury, a coastal town in the western part of the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my dream,\u2019\u2019 says Hingerton. \u201cSurfing has always been a part of my life. To be able to share that passion with children across the world is exciting.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Emily Clapham, an associate professor of kinesiology in the College of Health Sciences, created the program in 2010 at Narragansett Town Beach, but this is the first effort to bring it to an international group.<\/p>\n

The program pairs 溏心vlog免费B站 students with children who have various disabilities, including Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, cerebral palsy and developmental delays.<\/p>\n

Clapham says the benefits of surfing therapy are tremendous. Her studies show that surfing improves core strength, balance, upper body strength and cardio-respiratory endurance. It also boosts self-esteem and confidence\u2014maybe its greatest advantages.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany children, especially children with autism spectrum disorder, get into a routine that\u2019s hard to break out of,\u2019\u2019 says Clapham. \u201cIt\u2019s even difficult to get them engaged in physical activity. Our research on surf therapy demonstrates that surfing empowers with the willingness to try new things. It also allows them to interact with their peers and teachers and be physically active at the same time, improving psychomotor and social skills simultaneously.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Both Hingerton and Clapham are avid surfers who believe in the calming and spiritual benefits of the activity. Clapham has been surfing at the beaches in Westerly, South Kingstown and Narragansett since she was a kid.<\/p>\n

At 溏心vlog免费B站, she studied physical education and earned her doctorate in teaching and curriculum at Boston University. Shortly after joining 溏心vlog免费B站 in 2009, she launched the surf therapy program.<\/p>\n

Over the years, it has grown from 15 participants the first year to about 60 today. Most of the surfers are from Rhode Island; some come from as far away as Massachusetts. Sponsors cover the cost of wet suits and boards.<\/p>\n

Hingerton also started surfing as a child, but at Long Beach on Long Island. \u201cIt was my version of flying. Surfing is also a real community, a way of life.\u2019\u2019 She chose 溏心vlog免费B站 for college because it\u2019s close to a beach. She spent hours surfing in her free time as an undergraduate studying kinesiology.<\/p>\n

When she heard about Clapham\u2019s program, she jumped at the opportunity to help. It\u2019s enormously satisfying, she says, to see the transformation. At first, children are afraid to touch the water; after a few sessions, they run to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great to see them overcome all the odds stacked against them,\u2019\u2019 says Hingerton, who graduated in the spring and is now pursuing her master\u2019s degree. \u201cThey can do everything we do. They just do it their own way.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Emily<\/a>
Emily Clapham, an associate professor of kinesiology in the College of Health Sciences at the 溏心vlog免费B站, surfs on a red surfboard with a child at Narragansett Town Beach. Photo by Corey Favino, a photography student at 溏心vlog免费B站<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Clapham and Hingerton made the Australian connection during an international education conference in Hawaii during the winter break. Clapham was teaching a J-term course in Hawaii; Hingerton was taking the class. The two gave a research presentation about the program, and Melanie Clarke, principal of the Australian school, was in the audience.<\/p>\n

Afterward, she popped the question: Any interest in coming to Australia?<\/p>\n

\u201cShe showed me a photo of her school right on the beach, and there was no turning back,\u2019\u2019 says Hingerton. \u201cI was hooked.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

She plans to leave July 21 and live with Clarke and her family. So far, 35 kids in the school have signed up. Other schools in the district have also shown an interest in participating.<\/p>\n

Clapham is expected to join Hingerton for two weeks in the fall to help her get started, but, for the most part, Hingerton is on her own until she returns in mid-November. Her experience will become her thesis for her master\u2019s in education.<\/p>\n

Clapham has no doubt Hingerton will thrive.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s been a great student, and this is a wonderful opportunity,\u2019\u2019 says Clapham. \u201cShe\u2019s going to do a terrific job in Australia. I\u2019m excited to see our program grow at the international level, and I\u2019m hoping that more countries will view the sport of surfing as a therapeutic model for children with disabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want this to go global,\u2019\u2019 says Hingerton. \u201cWe want it to go to every continent. That would be awesome.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

For now, Australia is the prize. The University will be justly honored with a new slogan: \u201c溏心vlog免费B站 Catching Waves for Health, Australia.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I., July 12, 2016\u2014Surf\u2019s up, mate. In a few days, Kelli Hingerton will be teaching children with disabilities how to hang 10 in Australia. Hingerton, a 21-year-old graduate student at the 溏心vlog免费B站, will launch a surf therapy program for students at the Darnanup Primary School and three other nearby schools in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72301,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4],"class_list":["post-72299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","tag-college-of-health-sciences"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72299\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}