Welcome to Season 13, Episode 18, of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week we take a deep dive into parenting and coaching and playing with juniors who learn differently.

*Disclaimer: ParentingAces is providing this podcast as a public service. Reference to any specific product, service, or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by ParentingAces, Lisa Stone, or Fit For 2, Inc. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program is not and does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Always do your own due diligence before purchasing, hiring, or using any product, service, or provider.

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Lisa Pugliese-LaCroix is a former top junior and college player who tried her hand on the WTA tour before finding her passion working as a Speech-Language Pathologist. She now combines that passion with her love of tennis as the founder of Love Serving Autism, a non-profit organization dedicated to offering racquet sports to all children and adults regardless of their learning style.

In 2023, the CDC reported that approximately 1 in 36 children in the U.S. is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to 2018 data with a 4 to 1 higher prevalence in boys. This means the likelihood of a neurotypical junior facing a neurodivergent junior in a tennis learning and/or tournament environment is pretty high. With that in mind, the two Lisas discuss best practices for coaching and playing with junior players who may have some type of learning challenge, including being on the autism spectrum, ADHD, or ADD.

Love Serving Autism also works with junior tennis coaches to help them develop tools to better work with neurodivergent athletes. As you will hear, Lisa is committed to helping coaches, tournament directors, parents, and players have a more positive experience on and off the court.

You can find out more about Love Serving Autism and Lisa's work on their website at https://loveservingautism.org/. You can also reach out to Lisa directly via email at lisa@loveservingautism.org. To follow them on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/loveservingautism/

X: https://twitter.com/LSAAutismTennis

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/LoveServingAutism/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChCbBSSTmL1vEjlyplBFI2g

If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your fellow tennis players, parents, and coaches. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or via your favorite podcast app. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces by visiting https://parentingaces.com/membership-join. And check out our logo’d merch as well as our a la carte personal consultations in our online shop (Premium Members received FREE SHIPPING every day!). To support ParentingAces' work with a financial donation of any size via PayPal, click here.

CREDITS

Intro & Outro Music: Morgan Stone aka STØNE

Audio & Video Editing: Lisa Stone

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