Success means something different for every participant.

Sometimes making it onto the sand is a win.

The crash of waves. Wind against the skin. Sand between the toes. Then the water.

For some Ocean Heroes participants, making it on the sand is enough. For others, catching their first wave is the scariest part.

Ocean Heroes WA free events program lead Oli Callisto has watched participants arrive hesitant to enter the ocean, but by the end of a session not wanting to leave. “Once they’re on the board, and realise they’re safe with their surfer, it’s a whole world changing for them,” Callisto says.

Over 16 years, Royal Life Saving Australia recorded 33 drowning deaths where autism was a known factor. Seventy per cent of these deaths involved children below the age of 10. Royal Life Saving Australia says autistic people are often drawn to water for its sensory benefits.

Ocean Heroes creates a safe and inclusive environment for the neurodivergent community to experience the ocean. Participants who get involved can build confidence, make connections and develop social skills.

Many autistic people have the desire to be involved, just not the opportunity. Research from the Aspect Research Centre for Autism Practice found 74 per cent of autistic children wanted to participate in more organised physical activity, while 69 per cent of autistic adults faced barriers to participating in organised sport.

Ocean Heroes is working to change that.

Founded in 2016, Ocean Heroes has made surfing more accessible to the autistic community across Western Australia, New South Wales and Queensland beaches. The not-for-profit organisation is volunteer-led and runs free surfing events. Their mission is to improve the wellbeing of autistic people and their families through surfing.

Over the last decade, Ocean Heroes has delivered 216 free events and more than 12,000 free sessions nationally.

One event alone can bring up to 120 participants to the beach, with roughly 80 volunteers helping on some of the largest days at Trigg Beach, Callisto says. “We’ve been doing this for 10 years out of Trigg, and so we’ve developed a really amazing community that comes down and helps out.”

Behind all of these free events, is a lot of fundraising that goes on behind the scenes. Ocean Heroes’ biggest fundraiser is the 24- hour swim at Scarborough Beach pool, where teams swim day and night to raise money. Telethon and ToyBox Australia also support Ocean Heroes and make their program accessible to regional communities.

Weeks of work behind the scenes lead to one morning on the beach.

The flags are up at 8:30am at Trigg Beach, and participants and families wait apprehensively before gathering on the sand. Volunteers also fill the beach, organising boards and setting up gear.

For Callisto, his day starts much earlier; at 5:30am in the warehouse, the team work to load up the van with surfboards, wetsuits and lifejackets before heading down to Trigg Beach.

Before participants enter the water, everyone gathers for an introductory briefing. Experienced and core volunteers are paired with a surfer, and usually two newer volunteers are assigned per surfer.

“Our biggest thing is we meet each participant where they’re at. For some parents and families, their big win of the day might just be getting them down to the beach and on the sand. And if they don’t surf, that’s not a concern for us,” he says.

For volunteer Annabelle Jones, being in the water with the kids feels like being a kid again.

“Your job is to have fun and to get people to have fun and just enjoy the ocean,” she says. “It really feels like a playground.”

Boards, waves and plenty of splashes. For the next couple of hours, the ocean is their playground.

Five years ago Callisto was a volunteer, joining Ocean Heroes in 2021 and coming from a background in retail. But this wasn’t all new. He had experience with autistic children through school learning programs before joining Ocean Heroes Surf Experiences program as a coach. After two years coaching, Callisto moved to the WA Free Events team and recently stepped into the role of WA free events program lead.

“It’s a bit of a dream job,” Callisto says.

Ocean Heroes travels up to Broome once a year. And when the Ocean Heroes flags return to the beach, participants come running down to the tent, recognising Callisto from the previous year and asking to surf with him again.

“These kids have so many new people and faces they meet, and to remember you after a half-hour interaction, it’s pretty special,” he says.

The Broome event has also impacted volunteer Eleanor Green who has been volunteering for two and a half years now. During an event, she remembers one participant arriving terrified, hiding behind his mum and not wanting to talk.

“We got through to him by being like, you look like you’re really fast, let’s race,’” Green says.

It worked. He took off to the water. “He went from being so scared to loving it. He was so excited, you could see the joy in his eyes,” she says.

Some of the most rewarding moments come from families watching on the beach.

Jones started volunteering one and a half years ago, but her favourite moment was from her first day. An older participant with high support needs had come down for his first Ocean Heroes session, and four volunteers were helping him on a large board.

She remembers how happy he was, and the impact it had on his family. His family were almost brought to tears, telling the volunteers it was the happiest they had ever seen him.

“It was just the most wholesome moment I’ve been a part of, it was incredible,” Jones says.

These moments that make an impact are why Jones and Green continue to volunteer.

“Everyone who’s there wants to be there. There are just people who want to go down, have fun, have good experiences, give out good experiences,” Annabelle says.

By the end of a session, tired and sandy legs trudge their way up the soft sand. All the signs of a morning well spent in the ocean.

Salt on skin, sand stuck everywhere and heavy legs after hours in the water. For participants, it’s a tired walk up the beach, but a rewarding one.

And when the flags return to the local beach, so does the Ocean Heroes’ community.