We are excited to share this amazing story that will have you all kinds of feels

We want to congratulate Ava Rivera, one of our wonderful participants, for winning The Michael Savage, Athlete Of The Year Award, for Unified Sports and Special Olympics.
Her mother, Suzanne Rivera, explained that “she was chosen for her commitment, enthusiasm, and having the quality of being an outstanding teammate for John F. Kennedy High School.”

Even though she wasn’t able to physically attend the ceremony, “I had to watch it from my kitchen, but I still cried,” she said jokingly.

“She’s had a lot of ups and downs in her 17 years but always a positive attitude & smile.”

We are also thankful that ACEing Autism could contribute to her success. “None of this would’ve been possible without ACEing Autism. She learned all those things from this wonderful program. Thank you for always including her, always looking towards her abilities, and not ever focusing on her disabilities. I am forever grateful.”

We are so proud of everything that Ava has accomplished, and we can’t wait to see what she does next.