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Sports

'Serving' Special Aces

Army of volunteers keeps much-needed program for kids with cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, autism and other disabilities affordable for parents.

For Harry Muller, an 11-year-old Brooklynite who has a host of physical and developmental disabilities, "you can literally count on one hand" the recreational programs available to him, according to his mother, Michelle.

Evan Goings, 7, who has autism and problems with motor skills, had long been "baffled by his inabilities," said his mother, Larissa.  "He was concerned he wasn't good at anything."

Meeting the acute needs of Harry, Evan, and many other children with special needs is the Special Aces tennis program at the Prospect Park Tennis Center, which is run by the Prospect Park Alliance. 

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Founded in 2007 by Center Director Paul Campbell  — whose wife is a pediatric occupational therapist  — the program provides a much-needed group physical activity and self-esteem boost for its participants. It includes up to 25 children in its weekly hour-long lessons.  The program charges a fee of $84 for every seven-week session, but financial aid is available.

Recreational programs devoted to special needs children are rare and often expensive: Because the needs of such children are so diverse, programs necessitate a lot of staff, which drives up their cost.  To get around this problem, Special Aces relies on an army of volunteers.  Tennis pros and other regular players from the center, along with occupational and physical therapy students at NYU and SUNY Downstate Medical Center, volunteer their time.

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"Often special needs programs are expensive because of the extra staff, but Special Aces is affordable," said Michelle Muller.  "Harry doesn't have a lot of opportunities for social interaction and recreation outside of school.  Having something like this is pretty spectacular."

To date, the program has not turned away a single applicant.  Its participants include children with Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Autism, and sensory integration disabilities.

The children participate in tennis-related activities, all designed to improve their motor skills, sequence-movement abilities, and social skills. 

Susan Campbell, Paul Campbell's wife and a pediatric occupational therapist in the program, said that because tennis is an individual sport, it's more manageable for special needs children than team sports.

"So many of these parents have tried their kids in soccer, in baseball, and it doesn't work.  They have a hard time negotiating the field and the other players," she said.  "Because tennis is an individual sport, they can build up their skill level slowly, and there's more control over their development."

Larissa Goings, Evan's mother, praised the structure of the program, which she said is critically important to engaging special needs children. 

"It's all been thought out, from the stretching exercises that they do to the levels they put the kids in.  Structure is paramount for all these children, and they have things down to a 'T,'" she said.

She added, "Since the first time [Evan] went, he recognized that these people are friendly, and that there's structure, and that he's safe.  That's so important to these kids."

The program is funded largely by grants.  The initial grant money came from the Louise and Ardy Bulova Foundation.  The foundation is a philanthropic outgrowth of The Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking, which was founded after World War II to provide training and a path to employment for disabled veterans.

Paul Campbell, the center's Director, had long wanted to start a program devoted to special needs children.  In 2004, when the center opened, Campbell made sure it included two hard courts in addition to nine clay courts, the better to accommodate players in wheelchairs. 

Recently, the program received four specially designed wheelchairs from the Warner Foundation.  The program currently has two players in wheelchairs, but Campbell is trying to increase that number.  A grant from the United States Tennis Association will go toward outreach for that effort.

"When we started this program, I thought it was a good idea, but it really blew me away what a need for this there was and how important this was to the parents," said Campbell, whose children also volunteer at the program. 

He added, "I've been in tennis for a long time.  This is by far the most exciting program I've been involved with."

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