Surf's up!
Family hopes hitting the beach helps autistic child

Three-year-old Faith Miller-Haven plays at her home in Churchrock on Wednesday. Miller-Haven will attend a surfing camp for autistic children in San Diego, Calif. July. [photo by Brian Leddy / Independent]

By Leslie Wood
Staff writer

GALLUP — Four-year-old Faith Haven will take to the waves this July at a San Diego beach as therapy for the autism she was diagnosed with two years ago.

Young Haven will be surrounded with peers as she takes her first steps into the vast Pacific Ocean and learns to surf. The experience is part of a program entitled “Surfers Healing,” for children with autism.

According to the foundation’s Web site, “surfers healing seeks to enrich the lives of children with autism and the lives of their families by exposing them to the unique experience of surfing.”

Deniece Miller-Haven, Faith’s mother, said she first learned of the program through a segment featured on ABC’s “Nightline.”

The news program followed a pair of children with autism as they experienced the ocean for the first time. The children’s initial fears and eventual jubilation are captured on tape for viewers to see.

“I’m hoping that happens for Faith,” Miller-Haven remarked after she saw one child’s joyous reaction following the experience. “It’s like a dream for us to get out there.”

According to the Autism Society of America, “Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others. Autism is defined by a certain set of behaviors and is a ‘spectrum disorder’ that affects individuals differently and to varying degrees. There is no known
single cause for autism ...”

The Independent first featured an article that highlighted the Haven’s experience with Faith and her diagnosis two years ago. Since that time, Miller-Haven said Faith has learned a few methods of communication, but speaks less than two to three words.

She is currently enrolled in preschool and continues to learn, but that doesn’t mean the family doesn’t face its day-to-day challenges.

Faith often struggles to communicate and lacks the sense of danger that most children exhibit.

She sometimes tucks herself into an enclosed end table, which is a common practice for some children with autism.
The family also watches daily as Faith aligns her crew of plastic farm animals along the ledge of the living room piano. Her moves, always calculated, fascinate the family as they watch her routine every day.

“It may calm her,” Miller-Haven said of Faith’s actions.
The family may relocate to California or elsewhere if this summer’s program goes well. They are constantly in search of programs that expand Faith’s experiences and help her autism.

They often speak of their disappointment of the lack of autism related services in New Mexico, which is a huge concern due to the increase in diagnosis in recent years.

“We’re willing to try anything to see what works,” Randy Haven, Faith’s father, said.

The trek to California will be a family venture, he said. The event’s coordinators have also agreed to allow Faith’s younger brother, Billy, to participate in the therapy. He was diagnosed with a speech delay as opposed to autism.
He and Faith play alongside each other, and their favorite joint activity is to watch their parents blow a container of bubbles into the air.

Faith’s parents aren’t certain as to what caused autism in their daughter, but they suspect it may be from the level of mercury contained in some childhood vaccines.

“I can’t prove it. I’m not a doctor,” Deniece Miller-Haven said of her suspicions. “ ... I think research is being done.”
An exact cause of autism has not been determined. They do, however, forgo vaccines out of principle.

“They know not to ask me about vaccinations,” Miller-Haven said of local doctors.

Meanwhile, the Havens spend the finals days of June in preparation for their experimental trip to California. They are a bit weary of the high gas prices and the costs the trip will entail, but they remain determined to do anything to help their daughter.

“We hope it broadens her horizons and clicks in her mind that she likes it (surfing),” Miller-Haven said.

Information: www.surfershealing.com.