GAME ON
A Perfect
Match
ACEing Autism in LKN connects kids with tennis by Grace Kennedy | photography by Jon Beyerle
Children with autism have a unique resource available to them in the Lake Norman area, thanks to Julie Coughlin and her daughter Kendall. In 2019, the Mooresville residents opened a local chapter of ACEing Autism, a national organization that provides social connection and physical activity to children with autism through tennis. Kendall’s passion for helping children with special needs led to her discovery of the ACEing Autism UNC Charlotte chapter, where she started volunteering in her early teens. After many Sundays spent driving back and forth from Mooresville to Charlotte, Julie looked into starting a chapter closer to home, and ACEing Autism Mooresville was born. 40
LAKE NORMAN CURRENTS | APRIL 2021
About ACEing Autism In 2008 Richard Spurling, a tennis professional with a degree in International Business and an MBA in entrepreneurship, co-founded ACEing Autism in Boston, Mass. with Dr. Shafali Jeste, an autism researcher and child neurologist. The organization now has 73 program locations in 29 states. As a varsity tennis player for Community School of Davidson, Kendall, a high school junior, was excited to be part of the ACEing Autism team. She had spent many hours helping to teach math in the special needs classroom at her school and welcomed the opportunity to work with children with autism.
