About
Coach Dave began teaching exercise to children with autism and other cognitive disabilities in 2004. At the time, exercise wasn’t listed as a form of treatment, which further inspired Dave to change this paradigm.As he was witnessing both physical and emotional breakthroughs, Dave made it his mission to reach more children, adults and professionals. Dave soon began creating functional exercise resources, DVDs, books, the Visual Exercise System, and ExerciseBuddy to empower other parents and professionals. This did not go unnoticed. In 2012, The Autism Channel offered Dave a TV Show, allowing him to reach both a national and international audience. In 2013, he became a published author with Jessica Kingsley Publishers and in 2017 he formed a partnership with the world’s largest exercise science organization – American College of Sports Medicine – and created the fitness industries first accredited Autism Exercise Specialist Certificate.
Coach Dave is widely recognized for his affection to the community, his dynamic presentations and for the pioneering of structured visual exercise programs. Not only has the autism and special needs community embraced Dave’s message, but also twelve universities have adopted his programs and all are especially encouraged by his results.
Coach Dave has a bachelor’s degree in Health Promotion from the University of Iowa and is a Certified Exercise Physiologist and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. He is the former Fitness Coordinator at a school for children with autism in Illinois (Giant Steps) where he started their first exercise program.
