LOS ANGELES -- Nischal Jeste Spurling, 3, stepped directly on his mark and gripped a tennis racket firmly in his little fist. He modeled for the children watching how to hit tennis balls exactly on cue from the instructor.
When 4-year-old Diego Herrera stepped up to a tee, he bounced distractedly on the balls of his feet and looked off into the distance, and a volunteer helped the child with autism hold the racket that was slipping through his grip.
He hit the ball, and it earned him a high five from Nischal.
"I like tennis," Diego said softly in Spanish.
The difference between the two children's approaches seemed vast, but it was nothing compared to when Diego first began playing the sport, said Harvey Rubin, a volunteer instructor and a member of the United States Professional Tennis Association.
In collaboration with the nonprofit group ACEing Autism, UCLA Recreation provides the L.A. community with Adaptive Tennis, a 10-week program designed for youths ages 4 to 18 with autism spectrum disorder.
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