FOLLY BEACH -- Isabella Nocera, 21, and her family drove more than 13 hours from Buffalo, N.Y., to the Surfers Healing Folly event for families with members on the autism spectrum. And even with Hurricane Erin making the waters too dangerous to surf for those like her brother, Conner, 19, it was still worth it.
"It's really nice being here enjoying this. Just being on the beach," Nocera said from her beach chair, while Connor sat next to her with his headphones on.
Surfers Healing is a national movement where pro surfers take autistic children and young adults out into the water to ride the boards, and teach them to enjoy the waves with them. Surfers Healing Folly has held a large annual event since 2008, which typically includes about 250 participants and 400 volunteers.
But Hurricane Erin disrupted plans for this year. Although the large Category 2 hurricane was hundreds of miles offshore southeast of Folly Beach, it was still making its presence felt that morning, with the National Hurricane Center warning swimmers on the East Coast not to go out due to "life-threatening surf and rip currents."
Surfers Healing Folly "did a lot to be extra prepared," with more lifeguards and even renting a jet ski, but organizers were ultimately advised to scrap the surfing part of the event, said Shelly Ackley, a spokesperson for the group.
"You just don't know what nature is going to do," she said.
But with many families already on the way and volunteers ready, it made sense to proceed with the event and hold other activities like games on the shore and let families reconnect with each other.
"To have that day of unity, we didn't want to take that away," Ackley said.
That is the part that families look forward to and enjoy most about the gathering, said Machelle Babcock of West Ashley. She has attended the Folly event with her son, Brandon, 26, for the last 10 years.
"Everybody's in the same place," Babcock said. "There's no judgment. It's amazing."
She was carrying a bag featuring a large photo of Brandon upright on a surfboard and riding a wave.
"He loves the water," Babcock said, adding he took to surfing right away. "He loves the pressure of the water" and the force of the wave.
To not have it this year "was a little bit" disappointing, she said. "But I am glad they are still doing this part, too."
The event sprawls across a large section of the beach, with dozens of red, yellow and blue tents with food and various services and agencies.
Brooke Mulrenin, an assistant professor of occupational therapy at the Medical University of South Carolina, brought with her a number of first-year students to interact with the families, who often need those services.
"It's a great opportunity for them to get some hands-on experience," she said, and also get to know some patients and families.
But the surfing itself, though absent this year, is also a type of therapy in the minds of families and the surfers. Atsushi Yamada, originally from Tokyo, runs his own surf camp for kids on Tybee Island, Ga., but came to the event this year to work with the kids and fellow surfers.
With his little dog ChibiChibi dancing in circles for attention at his feet, he struggled to describe what happens with the kids as they go through the event. At first, some might be struggling, or upset or apprehensive as they wade out with the surfers.
"As soon as we hit the water with them, everything changes," he said. That first wave, that first splash, they are into it. And it can happen without talking -- they get into the flow, they ride the wave.
"You don't even need a language to share the same passion," he said.
It seems to have a profound effect on many of them, said Dr. Mindy Edwards, a psychiatrist and founder of the nonprofit Darshan, which seeks to promote a fuller understanding of autism and its spiritual aspects. It happens with her own daughter, Saachi, 16.
Something happens with them in the water, as they surf, Edwards said.
"There's something magical, or spiritual if you will, that brings them great peace," she said.
It is that same insight that led Israel "Izzy" Paskowitz to found Surfers Healing and hold the first surf camp in 1996 after he was able to connect with his autistic son through surfing. Since then, the group has held free surf camps around the world and regularly on the East Coast, stopping in Folly Beach.
Paskowitz is always "feeling so at home when we are here," he said as he gathered a massive prayer circle that stretched from the water's edge and halfway up the beach.
Even this year.
"We're all together," Paskowitz said, "and we're not alone."