KINGSTON, R.I. – May 13, 2026 – Imagine having a 12-year-old child you’ve never been able to take out for ice cream. That’s been the case for at least one family who has participated in the University of Rhode Island Surf Therapy Program that Professor Emily Clapham runs each year at Narragansett Town Beach. Clapham, associate professor of health and physical education, started the program for kids with a range of disabilities in 2010 and has seen tremendous positive outcomes over the past 15 years.

Clapham, who is the coordinator of the Adapted Physical Education program in the URI Feinstein College of Education, was recently awarded a $5,000 grant from the John E. Fogarty Foundation. A portion of that funding will go to purchase approximately 20 surfboards in order to cut down on the annual costs of running the Surf Therapy Program. The Fogarty Foundation had been a long-time supporter, but this is the first grant Clapham has received in recent years. She noted that the foundation encouraged her to purchase surfboards for the program to make it more sustainable.

Another change this year is the addition of a surf therapy program for children with visual impairments, which is slated to launch this fall as part of Wendy Flanagan’s master’s program project. Flanagan, a senior who will graduate this May with a degree in health and physical education and adapted physical education, will continue at URI this summer pursuing her M.A. in education. She has been working with Clapham in the Surf Therapy Program for three years.

The pair is teaming up with Lauren Lieberman of SUNY Brockport, who is well known in the adapted physical education world as a scholar and the founder of Camp Abilities, a sports camp that serves children who are blind, deafblind, or have low vision.

“It’s a good collaboration with her because she is such a leader in the world of adapted PE. She is the main person who does this kind of work with children with visual impairments,” Clapham said. “It’s such a unique disability. It’s important for them to have their own program. It’s going to be great for us to learn how to make modifications for children with visual impairments.”

Flanagan noted the need for additional funding for the new program as it will involve both taking the participants surfing and doing research. “We’ll test gross motor development and develop some questionnaires,” she said.

“This will be a pilot program,” Clapham said of the new program. “We’re not sure what will come from the data collection; we’re going to measure a few different variables. We’re going to learn a lot.”

The pair anticipate that people will come from a distance to have their children participate. “There are so few programs just for children with visual impairments, people will travel long distances so their child can participate,” Clapham said.

The URI Surf Therapy Program continues to grow, last year serving approximately 50 children, ages 3 to 21. Even more people, including some repeat participants, are expected to apply this year. The first session is scheduled to take place on May 20.

“We may have to turn people away,” Flanagan said. The program relies on many volunteers to operate, but ultimately needs to hire surf instructors to fill the gap. “That’s why getting grant funding is so important,” Clapham adds. 

The veteran educator and surf instructor has seen many positive effects of the program over the years but notes that she often sees the biggest gains with students who have autism or are on the spectrum. Many of them like swings or wearing body socks for compression, she says. And being in the natural rhythmic motion of the waves and wearing a tight-fitting wetsuit mimic both of these calming techniques, which are important for people with autism who often experience a lot of stress and anxiety and are frequently overwhelmed by sounds, bright lights, and unexpected changes. 

“We’ve had physical gains, like core strength, upper body strength, and stability” in the participants, said Clapham. Being in the water also helps to regulate them, “which often carries over to school the next day. They are very calm, relaxed and focused. The ocean and being in the water gives them that rhythmic experience.”

Parents have been pleased with the outcomes and find that having their children participate is extremely therapeutic. And so each year, Clapham finds a way to keep it going.

“When I first started the program, I thought this would be a one-time thing, but everyone just loved it so much and I tied my research to it, so I said let’s try to do it again next year,” she said. “It’s been like that every year, and it’s just worked out that we secure funding and support every year. We’ve been lucky.”

And so have the participants and their families. “They get good quality time with their kids after surf sessions,” Clapham says. “One family had never been able to take their 12-year-old out for ice cream, and they were able to do that after this program.” That’s a pretty sweet outcome.

Those interested in having their child attend the URI Surf Therapy Program can fill out the application form. Anyone interested in volunteering to assist with the program can reach out to Emily Clapham at eclapham@uri.edu.

This story was written by Jo Fisher in the Feinstein College of Education.