Today, we honor a very special person, who for the past 6 years has been beyond dedicated to ACEing Autism’s mission.
Andrew Grub just finished his last clinic as Program Director for the Weston, FL program. “It’s been rewarding to have the ability to touch the lives of over 100 children while also helping advance the mission of the organization through various projects.”
Andrew started with ACEing Autism at only 13 years old with his mother Erica, a speech-language pathologist, for his bar mitzvah project. “I knew I wanted to combine my love of tennis and working with children diagnosed with autism.”
On top of building his own program, Andrew took on even more responsibilities throughout the years by helping ACEing Autism plan the yearly clinic at the Delray Beach Open, an ATP tournament. He also helped the team plan the conference that eventually got canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida.
As he mentioned, fun activities for children with ASD aren’t easy to find. Most sports have limitations and finding outlets for these kids to have social interaction and improve their hand-eye coordination is a rarity.
“While team sports can be a bit overwhelming, many parents have found that individual sports, like tennis, can provide their children the physical, social, and emotional development they need.”
Andrew is saying goodbye to the Weston, FL program as he embarks on a new journey: the 18-year-old is going to American University, and even though he will no longer be a Program Director, he won’t stay away from ACEing Autism long. “I’m planning on volunteering at the Washington, DC program,” quickly followed by ”I’m not going away,” he said laughing.
