Shaka Soul Surfers (Part 1) : Estefania Holt on Compassion for Parent Partnerships in Recreation

In this episode of the FAST 15 podcast, we are joined by Estefania Holt, founder of Shaka Soul Surfers, a nonprofit organization that brings the joy of surfing to people with developmental disabilities and their families. Estefania's background as a special education teacher, combined with her passion for promoting acceptance and kindness, led her to create a space where individuals with disabilities can experience the thrill of surfing in a safe and supportive environment.

Estefania shares her journey of how she started Shaka Soul Surfers and the impact it has had on the lives of many. She discusses the challenges and successes she has faced, and how her organization provides recreational opportunities and breaks for parents and caregivers. Estefania's dedication to helping others is evident as she speaks about her commitment to creating accessible and inclusive activities for everyone.

In this episode, you'll hear about:
- Estefania's inspiration for creating Shaka Soul Surfers and the process of starting the nonprofit.
- The benefits of surfing and outdoor activities for individuals with disabilities.
- How Estefania works with families and volunteers to ensure everyone has a positive experience.
- Memorable stories and success moments from Estefania's work with Shaka Soul Surfers.

Tune in to learn more about Estefania Holt and her incredible journey of making surfing accessible to all, and be inspired by her dedication to inclusivity and community support.

**Sponsors**
This episode is sponsored by Specially Designed Education Services (SDES), providing innovative tools for empowering teachers and meeting their expressed needs. Learn more about their commitment to building functional academics in special education classrooms at www.sdesworks.com.

Support the show

Barbara Beck is the host of the FAST 15 Podcast. She is a highly dedicated Disability Advocate and Special Education Consultant specializing in IEP Transition Services. Barbara has an extensive background as a special education teacher spanning nearly 30 years. She has dedicated her career to empowering transition-age youth and fostering positive post-school outcomes.

Barbara's expertise lies in providing comprehensive support and guidance to students with disabilities, ensuring their successful transition from school to adult life. She possesses a deep understanding of secondary services and possesses the skills to develop tailored strategies that maximize individual potential.

For more information and resources on special education school-to-adulthood transition planning and independent living, visit www.mykeyplans.com. Join us on social media for updates, behind-the-scenes content, and discussions about special education, inclusion, and disability advocacy. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn and use #IEPLaunchpadPodcast to join the conversation. Thank you for tuning in to the IEP Launchpad Podcast! 🎧🎙️#IDD #teaching #specialed #specialneeds #InclusionMatters #DisabilityAdvocacy #EmpowerVoices #edtech, #education #edtech, #teachers

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Today's guest on the Fast 15 is a true inspiration
who embodies the spirit ofinclusivity and positivity.
Estefania Holt is the founderof Shaka Soul Surfers, a
nonprofit organization thatbrings the joy of surfing to
people with developmentaldisabilities and their families.
Background as a specialeducation teacher and her deep

(00:22):
passion for promoting acceptanceand kindness.
Estefania has dedicated hertime to supporting her students
and her community through thepower of education and surfing.
We're thrilled to welcome herto the Fast 15 podcast to hear
more about her incrediblejourney and the impact that
she's making.

(00:43):
I'm happy that you're here andjoined us for just a few minutes
to get to know her.
I want to introduce everybody toEstefania Holt, and she is an
incredible contributor to thecommunity with her Shaka Soul
Surfer business, and really it'ssomething that started with the

(01:04):
special needs community.
She was, like I said in theintro, a teacher and really has
a heart for this community thedisability community.
And so, estefania, welcome tothe Fast 15.
I'm so happy to have a chanceto talk to you and get to know
you more.
One I absolutely love boardsports, and so that's one love

(01:27):
that we both share, although youare total pro and I'm just like
somebody who would love tolearn surfing.
But you also really have aheart for the disability
community and loving kids andtheir families and finding those
connections for recreation andmaking the connections to life
after high school.
So welcome to the Fast 15.

(01:48):
Can you tell us a little bitabout where Shaka Soul Surfers
business started and just fillus in?
We want to get to know you alittle bit.

Speaker 2 (01:57):
Yeah for sure.
Thanks for having me on.
This is so exciting.
It's my first ever podcast, andsecond off come to Florida.
I will definitely get you on aboard.
I'm guarantee you will bestanding by the end of it.

Speaker 1 (02:09):
Great, that would be awesome.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
Yeah, Basically, as you said in the introduction, I
was a teacher.
I started teaching.
I started more like I startedvolunteering in 2014.
I was trying to figure out whatI wanted to do.
I knew I wanted to be a teacher.
I just didn't know what Iwanted to do.
So I started volunteering at aspecial needs school and luckily
, that special needs school grewand then they offered me a

(02:31):
position as a one-to-one, or apara as they call it, in public
school, and then I was a teacherassistant and then a teacher
and I just really took a stepback and listened at what was
needed, because going to school,the population I worked is, you
know, I think are called levelthree or four now, but back then
it was called low functioningand I didn't know that there was

(02:54):
a population like this.
So I started working at aschool called Super School.
It's in Plantation Florida andit was just school and therapies
and ABA, PT, OT.
We had it all in the school andthese parents were like this is
all that they do and I was like, as typical people, we go to

(03:17):
school, we go to band, we go tocheerleading, we have sports.
There is a lack of resourcesand more recreational resources
for kids with this type ofdisabilities.
And in school we have varyingdisabilities.
It wasn't just autism.
We had seizure disorders, raregenetic disorders and our kids
had behaviors and all theseparents were like there's

(03:38):
nothing I can put my kid in.
So my coworker, Kira, she surfs, and I was trying to find a
nonprofit that I can open thatdidn't require large amounts of
money, Because I know when youopen things, when it comes to
building and permits andlearning from the special needs
school, it's millions of dollars.
I did not have that.

(03:58):
I didn't know anybody who hadthat, so I was trying to open
something that I can dorecreationally with Stimple.
So I opened Chaka Soul Surfers.
We just hang out on the beachfor a couple of weeks on
Saturdays and just have a greattime.

Speaker 1 (04:10):
What I love is your passion, your interest, your
background, meshed with what yousaw as a need in the community
you were serving, and theability to mirror and play
alongside and I don't mean justplay like elementary school

(04:30):
students are playing, justenjoying an activity together
and getting people out and doingsomething that you love.
What I love about that is thatyour passion, you've blended
that together.
So can you share one memorableexperience or a success story
from your time at when you wereteaching in the classroom that

(04:53):
really led you to that, theShaka Soul Surfers business and
that and the activities thatyou're providing for the
community?

Speaker 2 (05:02):
I just have a specific memory of in this
community, these parents thatare burnt out.
I've seen parents that are intears.
I have been in meetings wherethese parents are in tears.
So in terms of, in general downhere in Florida, unfortunately,
the public school system, theprivate school systems, we get
all these kids that were eitherkicked out.

(05:24):
Unfortunately, they were abused, there was a lot of things that
were going on that led them toour school and we are equipped
for them and these parents arein tears.
My kids get kicked out of here.
They can't do anything.
I can't get them into here, Ican't get them into there and
I'm like this is horrible.
These parents can't gettherapies.
The insurance isn't working.

(05:45):
I've been waiting five yearsand my kids are getting more
aggressive or their speech isdecreasing because we can't get
something.
I was like I feel bad.
I wanted to do something funfor them, that they didn't have
to worry about being waitlisted.
Insurance With Shaka SoulServers as a nonprofit, we do
charge, but my fees are so low.
It is something that they don'thave to go through insurance.

(06:06):
They'll just pay me what theycan pay me.
I have scholarship programs justfor them to have fun, because,
nevermind, or they're focused ontheir kids getting speech and
OT and PT and ABA therapy orsurgeries or wait listed for
things.
Like that was like on the backof their mind, something fun,
and I was like I just want to dosomething for them that they
didn't have to like struggle sohard to get to.

(06:28):
And, like I said before, likethey're humans too, like they
want to have fun too and it'snot fair for us again to go to
high school, to go to middleschool, to be homeschooled, and
we have extracurriculars or wedo dance or we do theater or we
do track.
These kids are had nothing, letalone for them to get into a
program that that is catered tospecial needs, but really they

(06:49):
don't cater.

Speaker 1 (06:50):
Yeah, it's not accommodated for them
specifically.
Right Well listeners.
In the field of specialeducation, it's so important to
continually find ways tocollaborate closely with parents
and caregivers to meet thediverse needs of the students
we're serving.
This partnership is reallyessential for creating enriching

(07:14):
academic and recreationalopportunities that are
accessible and enjoyable foreveryone.
Estefania Holt's dedicationwith Shaka Soul Surfers stands
as a prime example of howcompassion in our approach can
result in significantimprovements in special
education and inclusivity.
A special thanks to our sponsor, sdes, for leading in this way

(07:37):
with effective tools forempowering teachers and meeting
their expressed needs.
Now here's a quick message fromSDES.

Speaker 3 (07:49):
Functional Academics by SDES's collaborative work
with educators and families,just like you, provides an
in-depth understanding of yourneeds in the community we serve.
You've asked, we listen, it'scoming.
Stay tuned with more to come atSDESworkscom.

Speaker 1 (08:07):
Thank you, sdes, for your continued commitment to
innovative approaches tobuilding functional academics in
our special educationclassrooms and for your support
of our FAST15 champions.
Now let's get back to thisepisode and our conversation.
One of the things that I'mthinking about is just, you are

(08:27):
providing all of that in a funenvironment.
You're providing communicationsupport.
You're providing thoseopportunities for speech,
language to happen in ageneralized recreational
situation.
But there's social skills,there's physical PT.
Oh, there's so much thatcontinued growth can happen in

(08:49):
the surfing environment.
Right, absolutely Focusing onjust work or all of those things

(09:12):
that you just listed that aretherapy on therapy.
How about the fun part of life,instead of just focusing on from
one agency to the next andwho's going to be caring for my
child?
Now let's have a situationwhere we can go out and play.
Tell me about the whole processfor somebody that's interested
in Shaka Soul Surfers andthey're hearing oh, that's an

(09:33):
opportunity for my young adultwith a disability, my child with
a disability.
Tell about the process.
What would they be doing whenthey find out about you?
They come to your website.
What's the process from startto finish for their involvement?
Can you timeline that out forus?

Speaker 2 (09:49):
Yeah, absolutely so.
There's a lot of us in mycommunity of Shaka Soul Surfers,
but I primarily run it.
My phone number is on there, myShaka Soul Surfers email, which
is literally connected to me.
It's not, you know,corporations.
They have other people handlingthings, it's all me.
So they either are recommendedby word of mouth, they find me
on the website, they shoot me atext, they shoot me an email, I

(10:10):
call them and what's importantto me is I make everything
accessible.
So if they call me and say, hey,listen, my kid might be
interested in doing this, whatcan I do?
First of all, we'll offer atrial, because it's not for
everybody and we've never had anissue with anybody but
sometimes it's overstimulatingor it doesn't happen right away

(10:31):
or they couldn't make it to thebeach because of sensory issues.
We give it a trial and ifthey're interested, they can
proceed, and if they're notinterested, that's a free lesson
that they got.
And for them to say, hey,listen, maybe next year we'll
try it again.
Or if they're like, no, I wantto put my kid in this, you pick

(10:54):
the time and you pick theSaturday you want to do it at.
We have a lot of parents thatdo it in June only, or we do it
every other weekend, or we havethem do it all eight, six weeks,
depending on how long theprogram is, and they just come
out and try it.
Every parent is so nervous,they're so scared.
This is for fun.
I'm not going to make your kiddo it.
If you want me to push them, Iwill.
One specific story I had is Ihad one kid.

(11:15):
We used to play with the kid onthe board in the sand and by
the end of the session which waslike I think it was nine weeks
at the time, the last session hewent on the board and just hung
out on the board, which waslike for us it was a win.
And what's even crazier aboutthat story is the mom signed up
for the next summer.
He remembered that first lesson.

(11:37):
He was on the board and hestayed on the board that whole
time.
So again, with schools andtherapies, it's there for you to
push, which is really goodbecause you have to push forward
to have any sort of reward,especially for speech and OT.
But for us it's fun and ifwe're working through something
that's a little different, butit's still it's them for the

(11:58):
parents to not have to worrylike my kid is going to hate
this and we have to do itbecause we have to do it.
That's not what I want for them.

Speaker 1 (12:05):
Yes, Can you highlight just your strategies
for parents that are reallynervous to let go to that
activity that they've neverexperienced before?
How do you actually put peopleat ease?
Just your personal strategiesto do that.

Speaker 2 (12:22):
So my main goal, besides the kids that are doing
this, is for the parents to geta break.
Okay, and so the parents are onsite, they're at the beach,
they don't leave because we'renot a camp, it's an hour lesson
and it's just for them to just.
I think the issue is they'rejust scared because it's a
public place and a lot ofparents are like people are

(12:43):
looking at me and then they doget embarrassed.
Okay, my kid does manipulate,he does pull hair, he does
scream, he does like we don'tcare.
You know what I mean.
I've noticed when I talk toeach parent which is rightfully
so they're in their own bubbleand they don't realize that
there's different types ofdisabilities, different types of
behaviors.
We don't care, and that's whatI try to tell my parents.

(13:06):
Like your kid can scream allthey want and have people come
and look at me and they can comeand talk to me.
I've been so blessed to have allthe volunteers that don't care
at all and just be like listen,I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm
so sorry.
You don't have to say sorry,we're not mad and we're not

(13:31):
going to kick you out, which isa asterisk effect of what
they've been treated with in thecommunity in general and it's
sad and that's why I want tocreate also an atmosphere of if
I get spit in the face, I'mgoing to make your kid keep
going, I'm not going to kick himout, because that is his way of
communication.
He's scared, he's frustrated,and that's okay as long as
you're okay with it and at theend they generally have a great
time.
Oh yeah, the nervousness.

(13:52):
So that's what I tell ourparents.
I really can't care less abouteverybody else.
It's about you and your childat that moment.

Speaker 1 (14:01):
We will have to push pause on our conversation here,
but if you're like me, you'rereally intrigued to learn more
about how a service providerlike Shaka Soul Surfers can
develop successful volunteersand community members to
champion the cause of inclusiverecreation and community support
.
In our next episode, we willlearn in more detail about

(14:21):
Estefania Holt and her missionto meet the needs of individuals
with disabilities throughsurfing and having fun.
Be sure to subscribe so thatyou don't miss out on our next
episode of the Fast 15.
And until next time, keep beingthe champions.
You are in your own corner ofthe world.

Speaker 4 (14:41):
A heartfelt thank you to our generous sponsors.
Specially Designed EducationServices.
Publishers of the FunctionalAcademics Program.
Please take a moment to learnmore about the only true
comprehensive functionalacademics program that enables
students with moderate to severedisabilities to improve their
ability to live independentlyand show meaningful growth both
academically and personally,while creating accountability

(15:04):
with data-driven, evidence-basedresults.
Visit wwwsdesworkscom to learnmore.