This fall, the Tucson J was proud to once again host ACEing Autism, a national nonprofit dedicated to helping children with autism grow, develop, and benefit from social connections and fitness through affordable tennis programming.
ACEing Autism held a successful six-week clinic for participants ages 5-18+ at the J. The program relied on dedicated Tucson volunteers who paired up with participants to lead the clinic. This year, many of the volunteers were made up of faculty and students from the Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences department at the University of Arizona.
Families, participants, and volunteers alike found meaningful connection and movement throughout the ACEing Autism experience. Keep reading to explore their final thoughts on the program.
“We love ACEing Autism tennis!
This fall of 2025, we were excited to have ACEing Autism back in Tucson. My child started his tennis journey back in 2022, and I still remember clearly when I first enrolled him in this program. I was surprised by the professional attitude towards identifying goals and the practical-based outcome, which proves that tennis can offer many benefits for children with autism—physically, socially, emotionally, and behaviorally.
Tennis helps with hand-eye coordination, balance, and overall body control. It also supports communication: Coaches often use clear, repetitive language and visual cues—ideal for children who are speech delayed. Surprisingly, my child builds his confidence step by step through each time attending ACEing, from feeling anxious and escaping in the beginning, to improving focus on the ball and self-regulation in the team movements; from feeling super upset from failing to hit the ball, to patiently engaging with peers, keeps staying in the group, and loudly encouraging everyone: “let’s do it! Try it again!”
Compared with other large groups, loud and fast speed sports activities, ACEing Autism gracefully works well for my child! Tennis has predictable routines (point and direction). It allows individualized instruction—one child per coach or small ratios. The game’s structure can be easily adapted (larger balls, slower pace, shorter courts). Everyone is understandable and compassionate, without having misunderstandings of our kids’ behaviors from other regular players.
The ending cheers are always our favorite part, and my child enjoys the joyful expression: “We Love Tennis!”
Jing, Parent
“ACEing autism is really beneficial not only to develop leadership skills for volunteers but also to increase their involvement in the community. I think it’s doing a great job benefiting the autism community since the program has been absent for a few years. I’m glad that ACEing Autism is back and can’t wait to see it expand in the Tucson area.”
Morgan, High School Program Director
“I really love being out here and making sports more accessible for all kids. I am super grateful to be a part of this experience. Thank you for everyone who contributes and comes out to support ACEing Autism.”
Allie, Volunteer
“ACEing Autism has been great for the kids. They’re able to interact with each other and interact with the volunteers. They gain social communication skills and work on their tennis at the same time, which is amazing.”
Ashley, Volunteer
“My son absolutely loved this program. Although he can struggle when asked to try new things, the exceptional level of support at ACEing Autism made him feel safe and open to discovering and developing new competencies—I could tell he didn’t mind if things didn’t come out perfect on the first try. Program volunteers were deeply caring and fully present, meeting our kiddos wherever they were and allowing them to explore at their own pace. Someone recently asked him if he likes sports, and he said, ‘I play tennis.’ He would not have said that five weeks ago.”
Rachel, Parent
“ACEing Autism is a really wonderful opportunity for children with autism to have communication opportunities with other individuals, whether it’s other players or adult volunteers. It’s also a really wonderful opportunity for volunteers to familiarize themselves and develop their skills through working with individuals from the community. It’s a great way to connect and build team bonding opportunities as well.”
Alicia, Volunteer
“Since starting ACEing Autism, I have grown more connected to the Tucson community. Being a student at U of A, university life is just one bubble, but volunteering and participating in other organizations off campus allows me to feel more connected to Tucson as a community.
In addition to this, ACEing Autism has definitely helped me develop stronger skills when working with those who are on the spectrum. These are skills I can use as a future clinician as a speech language pathologist to better care for my patients. I feel like ACEing Autism is definitely beneficial to those in the autism community because I’ve seen firsthand how this specific program promotes positive interaction among those within the community that otherwise, they wouldn’t get. One athlete I worked with has become more confident in his ability to do certain tasks and has also strengthened his communication skills through the program. ACEing Autism also provides a fun exercise environment to those who otherwise wouldn’t choose to participate in exercise.”
Camila, Volunteer
“My son, 6, participated in ACEing Autism in Autumn 2025. We were so impressed with the volunteers, organizers, and leaders. My son learned tennis skills, made friends, and was even able to take his new skills home to play with our family dog! We are so grateful to the entire team for their dedication and fun. Providing opportunities where an Autistic child can be their own person and feel comfortable is a hard thing to find, but at ACEing Autism we not only felt we belonged, we felt a part of a team.”
Lisa, Parent
“As an out-of-state student at the University of Arizona, ACEing Autism has allowed me to feel more connected to the Tucson community. It has served as a great learning experience to get to understand the autism community better and work with individuals with all sorts of different needs.
I have enjoyed seeing the participants get more confident and comfortable on the court during each clinic. I particularly love seeing the kids get excited when we play games such as Red-Light Green-Light, which also serves as an awesome way for both the volunteers and participants to socialize. I love how this program makes sports more accessible to children with autism, and I cannot wait to see the program flourish and expand further within the Tucson area.”
Ari, Program Director
