(TN) Nashville

ACEing Autism is on a mission for children with autism to grow, develop and benefit from social connections and fitness through affordable tennis programming, uniquely serving individual needs while filling a national void for this growing and worthy population.

Our branch of ACEing Autism works to fulfill this mission through our diverse set of volunteers. We have a great group of high school and college students who always show up excited to engage with the athletes and work with them one-on-one. We hope to positively impact the lives of all the athletes who come through the program, and to provide an outlet that they might not otherwise have.

Trained Program Directors and volunteers lead participants through our curriculum. At the very heart, tennis is a social game that furnishes a natural opportunity to develop and reinforce skills that many children on the spectrum find a struggle: turn-taking, focus and attending, motor planning, fine and gross motor skills, and more. Our Program Directors meet athletes where they are at and progress through our curriculum at their own pace.

We offer weekly tennis clinics for children with autism between the ages of 5 and 18. Our clinics run for one hour, with sessions running for six to eight weeks at a time. Volunteers are paired up with a participant, hopefully for the duration of the session. The children in our program do not need prior tennis knowledge as our curriculum & volunteers support each child’s individual abilities and needs!