Love and empathy

“Surfing feels like … I’m flying,” says Damian, still wet from the waves on a recent afternoon. “I’m catching waves and doing tricks, everything.”

The sport has given Damian an identity and a new sense of confidence, his mother says. He enjoys competing, and has learned to be a good sport when he doesn’t win, which can be difficult for someone with the rigid set of emotions that often accompany autism, she says.

In December, Damian received his black belt in karate, which not only involved a rigorous physical test but also required him to deliver a 30-second speech to a room filled with classmates and parents. He made sure to thank his coaches and his mom.

“Of course, I was bawling,” Bastante says.

Damian’s evolving selfassurance has helped ease his mother’s anxiety as they prepare for a new school in the fall, when he starts at Monarch High.

She’s also buoyed by a story related recently by the father of one of Damian’s fellow students at Lyons Creek Middle School. The father told Bastante about how Damian routinely helps his daughter, who has a physical disability, with her backpack, carrying it through the busy hallways, and opening bags of chips for her in the cafeteria.

“The dad just told me this. I didn’t even know. He said, ‘Your child is so helpful,’ ” Bastante says. “He has grown so much that way. He likes to help others. He does have a lot of empathy for people.”

And does he tell his mother, “I love you”?

“Oh, yes, many times,” she says. “He has progressed beyond my wildest dreams.”

The 10th annual Surfers for Autism Beach Festival takes place April 21-23 at the Deerfield Beach International Fishing Pier, 200 NE 21st Ave. Admission is free. Go to SurfersForAutism.org.