Family hails impact of innovative accessible beach and ocean project

A local family has hailed the impact of a health project, Making Waves, which makes the beach accessible to young people with disabilities. Natasha Boyce from Ramelton, Co. Donegal, has said the project has had a huge impact on her family and young son Teddy, giving them peace of mind, freedom and pride.

Natasha said “Our family has been involved in the Liquid Therapy and Making Waves Programme since summer 2025. Teddy was born with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus and is dependent on a wheelchair and walker. This programme gave Teddy the opportunity to be seen as a regular little boy who can go to the beach with his family, play with his sister in the waves, learn how to surf with his amazing instructors Darragh and Nudge.

“The beauty of this Programme is that Teddy didn't need anyone to do any of this for him. He could wheel himself down the beach, transfer on to the sand and into the sea himself. His instructors helped him on to the board. There was no holding him back. It doesn't matter that he can't walk himself, or speak for himself, this programme gave him his independence and his smile spoke a thousand words.”

‘Making Waves' is a ground breaking partnership between the HSE's Children's Disability Network Team (CDNT) Donegal North and award-winning surf charity Liquid Therapy. Co-designed with clinicians, surf therapists and families, it created two new pathways to the water, an Early Years Wheelchair-Accessible Beach Pathway, and an Ocean-to-Child Pathway that brings saltwater, sand and shells to children who cannot access the ocean directly, with therapeutic goals embedded into every session.

Families are supported by beach access mats, a specialised wheelchair and a purpose-built seated surfboard. The results speak for themselves, real gains in physical, social and emotional wellbeing, a powerful sense of belonging, and precious family time with more children reached than ever before. The project's impact has already crossed borders, presented at the European Academy of Childhood Disability (EACD) Conference in June 2026.

Katie Stack, HSE Senior Children's Occupational Therapist with CDNT Donegal North said “This project shows what family-centred practice really looks like when you commit to it fully, beyond the clinic setting, on a beach, in the water, in a family's own community. Making Waves was never designed for families, it was designed with them, and that partnership is what has made all the difference.”

Tom Losey, Chief Executive, Liquid Therapy, said “the idea is to bring the surf experience to people who cannot participate in a mainstream opportunity and need a higher level of support. The seated surfboard lets a small team take an individual out into the ocean in comfort in a specialised seat, made of carbon fibre, on a board that lets them enjoy the thrill of the ocean and the waves, removing the stress and barriers to participation.”

The project's impact reaches beyond the beach. Local authority collaboration has embedded beach access mats into Liquid Therapy's protocols, and a partnership is now underway to deliver permanent, accessible beach infrastructure for every family that follows.

The local team received the 'Bright Spark' award at the HSE's recent Spark Summit, hosted by HSE Spark, and has secured funding for delivery of the project in summer 2026.

Making Waves proves what's possible when services are built with families, not just for them, turning an ordinary day at the beach into something extraordinary.