Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. Jack Marshall, age 7, is hitting a tennis ball over the net as a volunteer bounces one toward him. His mother, Jessica, is thrilled for Jack, who was diagnosed with autism at age 3. When Jack started attending tennis clinics with ACEing Autism last year, he could barely hold a racket. Now, he can use either hand to consistently get the ball over the net.
Jessica spoke about the positive benefits she has seen with Jack’s involvement in ACEing Autism, a program for children ages 5-18. Jack’s gross motor skills have improved, he has gotten better at listening and following directions, his social skills have improved, and he has even found a friend he enjoys spending time with on play dates and even birthday parties.
Jessica had high praise for the volunteers who work with the children in the program, calling them “amazing.” She said the volunteers are really good at working with children at their level, no matter where that level may be. “It’s fun,” she said, “to put your kid in a sport where they can excel.”
ACEing Autism was founded in the summer of 2008 by Richard Spurling and Dr. Shafali Jeste in Boston with 15 children in their first clinic. Dr. Jeste is a pediatric neurologist specializing in autism and Spurling, a competitive Division I tennis player in college, had a career in the tennis industry before starting ACEing Autism. There are now more than 200 locations nationwide, including one in Salt Lake City.
Dr. Thu Nguyen, a neurologist in Utah County, is an assistant program director for the Utah program, and she’s passionate about it. She was looking for opportunities to volunteer when she read about ACEing Autism. Although she does not play tennis herself, she has children who played competitively who also wanted to volunteer.
She found that the closest chapter of ACEing Autism was in Colorado, so she helped start Utah’s chapter. The first five-week clinic was held in the fall of 2024. She described what the organizers felt they needed: an affordable, publicly available indoor court. Being indoors provides the ability to play year-round, is temperature stable and helps keep kids from getting distracted by other things around outdoor courts. They found what they were looking for in the Wasatch Hills Tennis Center close to Utah’s Hogle Zoo. The five-week clinics are $100, and scholarships are available.
Nguyen said, “The tennis community in Utah has been so supportive.” Coach Mike’s Friends of Public Tennis has partnered with ACEing Autism by donating money to every clinic. Like Jessica Marshall, Nguyen also praised the volunteers, saying, “We are grateful in getting volunteers from local high schools and the community to help with the tennis clinics. One of our volunteers turned out to be a pediatrician who played Division 1 tennis 30 years ago and is now the director of the child development program at the University of Utah.”
Dr. Nguyen also described why ACEing Autism makes sense from a neurology point of view. She said that children with autism can get overstimulated by noise and other external factors, but tennis is a relatively quiet game. It’s rhythmic and repetitive and provides social interaction on a smaller scale than many sports.
The national website for ACEing Autism has been measuring results since the beginning. Program directors report a 92% improvement in social skills, a 90% improvement in tennis skills and motor skills, an 82% improvement in on-task engagement, and a 78% improvement in both mood and general behavior.
Nguyen would love to see the program get into schools focused on helping kids with autism, such as Spectrum Academy or the Carmen Pingree school. ACEing Autism supports P.E. teachers within schools with supplies and a proven program.
Jessica Marshall says that for her son Jack, the program has been amazing.