Pure Vibes Tutoring

COAST CITIES – A love of the ocean coupled with a compassion for children with special needs inspired Rick Sutera to start Pure Vibes, a dedication of his life to aquatic therapy and tutoring for the disabled.
“It’s a pure vibe from God that I ended up in special education, that I’d be on this road for the rest of my life, to be able to give things back to kids that are less fortunate than I am,” Sutera said.

Pure Vibes provides a range of one-on-one curative services, including physical therapy, speech pathology, academic aid, social skills and therapeutic surf and snorkel instruction to children coping with disabilities such as autism, Down syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, cerebral palsy and seizure disorders.
“It has been a wonderful thing,” said Rosanna Guzman, whose 3-year-old autistic son has undergone individual home therapy with Sutera for nearly a year.
“He has made a tremendous change in my son,” Guzman said.
“Rick Sutera’s creative innovations to his teaching method, and above all his passion for his craft, truly mark him as a special guide and mentor to his students,” said Alex Soares, who has served as branch and athletic director of several Boys & Girls Clubs chapters.
Dalia Katz said the surf instruction her 9-year-old son with special needs has received from Sutera has built his self confidence and been a positive addition to his life.
Though Sutera said he has been surrounded by those with special needs his entire life – he grew up with a brother suffering from mild mental retardation – it wasn’t until he incurred a rare incurable bone disease in 1997 that his life focus changed forever.
The disability forced Sutera to give up his dreams of becoming a pro surfer, relegated to the harsh truth that a weakened talus bone in his ankle would keep him from many activities he had previously taken for granted.
“On any given day, like an egg in your refrigerator, the bone may collapse and I’ll walk with a cane for the rest of my life,” Sutera said. “I live life in God’s waiting room.”
Not one to allow injury to force the abandonment of his reverence for the ocean, Sutera combined his background in special education with his love of surfing to create the first therapeutic surf instruction program for special needs children in the nation.
Parents of participating special needs children expressed assurance that because of Sutera’s extensive experience, they had no doubts about the safety of their children while in the ocean with Sutera.
“Rick is very self-confident with himself in the water and with the kids in there also,” Katz said.
“All we’re trying to do is try to make the kids happy,” Sutera said. “Water seems to just make all the kids happy, with special needs or mainstream kids. When you go in the water, you don’t feel stressed.”
“Having worked in the athletic field, I see the measure of a child’s self-esteem rise and Mr. Sutera’s surf lessons help reinforce the joy these children take in life,” Soares said.
Hands-on therapeutic surf instruction at Pure Vibes focuses on balance, coordination, endurance, motor functions, mobility, posture and strength.
Though geared toward children with special needs, Sutera also provides instruction for mainstream children and adults. For information, visit www.purevibessurfing.com or call 760-943-9342.