ACEing Autism - Connecting Kids Through Tennis
Mylène Martin + ACEing Autism Staff
AS YOU ENTER THE TENNIS COURTS you can hear cheers, high-fives, and much laughter. That is the environment ACEing Autism strives to create during all its clinics. ACEing Autism is a nonprofit organization which provides affordable tennis programming nationwide for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Its mission is for children on the spectrum to grow, develop and benefit from social connections and fitness. It has proved that tennis is often the solution for families.
Beginning in 2008, ACEing Autism founders Richard Spurling and Shafali Jeste realized that children with autism had very few options to simply have fun and be active. Richard, who earned his MBA from Babson College and is a former tennis professional, along with Dr. Jeste, a behavioral child neurologist specializing in autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders, combined their expertise to create ACEing Autism.
They developed a 9-step curriculum that is flexible and can be modified based on each child's skill level. Richard and Dr. Jeste found that the sport of tennis worked well for people with ASD because it’s primarily an individual sport. The curriculum provides activities that can be adapted to meet each child at their level. It allows individual player-centered lessons while still having all participants engage in the same activity. The social dimension enables participants to work cooperatively with each other, which is particularly important for children with autism. The innate give-and-take rhythm of tennis encourages turn-taking, fine and gross motor skills, focus and attention, and motor planning, which can be a challenge for some children with ASD. This program promotes both the physical and social benefits of sports and recreation to a population that is often underserved in these areas.
Thanks to the partnership with UCLA Center for Autism Research & Treatments (UCLA CART), ACEing Autism measures impact annually. For instance, 74% of Program Directors observed progress in participant’s motor skills, while 67% reported participant social skills improved. In 2022, ACEing Autism conducted a survey with parents and 80% felt they had found a meaningful activity/experience for their child. In addition, 73% said they saw improvements in their child’s tennis skills, overall behaviors, social skills, and confidence.
But how did it begin? Going back to the beginning, the first program was born at the Longfellow Tennis & Health Club in Wayland, MA in the Fall of 2008. ACEing Autism expanded along the east coast but when Richard and Dr. Jeste moved to Los Angeles, it was the perfect opportunity to take their program to the west coast. Fast forward 15 years, ACEing Autism has reached over 130 communities in 34 states. It supports more than 200 Program Directors and over 6,000 registered volunteers. The volunteers’ dedication, care, and commitment has made a huge impact on over 3,000 families! In early 2018, ACEing recognized the opportunity to impact even more children by offering the program to schools and physical education classes. Among the 130+ programs, 30 programs are integrated into schools. Just like its community outreach programs, the ACEing Autism staff trains the teachers to deliver the curriculum so they can in turn apply it directly to their students. ACEing Autism remains a support system during and after each school session as well.
Today, ACEing Autism is rapidly expanding its community and school-based programs to communities nationwide. It’s celebrating its 15-year anniversary of fun, fitness, and family. Its wide community of families and volunteers are able to participate in fun events, and everyone is encouraged to join. Whether you want to learn more, volunteer, take part in a fundraising event, or find other ways to be involved, ACEing has you covered. As ACEing reflects to celebrate how far it’s come, it’s also looking forward to the next 15 years and the opportunities ahead. The CDC recently updated its national prevalence estimation to 1 in 36 children, which reinforces the importance of ACEing Autism and its mission to reach more communities that lack services and support for all.