The Waterworks Receives Autism Training, Joins Community Initiative to Become a Certified Autism Destination™

The Waterworks' CAC designation contributes to a wider movement led by St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce to achieve the Certified Autism Destination™ status

ST. JOHNS, FL, UNITED STATES, March 20, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Waterworks earns the Certified Autism Center™ (CAC) designation from the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES). This credential is awarded to organizations whose staff undergo autism-specific training and certification, providing knowledge on best practices, skills, and resources to welcome autistic and sensory-sensitive individuals to their location. Members of the St. Johns Cultural Council, which manages The Waterworks cultural center, also received IBCCES autism training.

“As the designated local arts agency for St. Johns County, Florida, part of our mission is to ensure that the lives of residents and visitors are enriched through the arts,” says Jeff Potts, executive director. “Becoming a Certified Autism Center™ is important for our organization because it gives us the tools to welcome and accommodate autistic and sensory-sensitive guests who want to experience cultural events at our venue, The Waterworks.”

“IBCCES is proud to work with the St. Johns Cultural Council to designate The Waterworks as a Certified Autism Center™,” says Myron Pincomb, IBCCES board chairman. “By completing the training and certification process, The Waterworks is not only creating an environment where everyone feels included and supported, but they’re also playing a part in a broader initiative to turn St. Johns County into a Certified Autism Destination™, ensuring every visitor feels welcome in the community.”

The Waterworks joins a growing number of tourism and recreation-related organizations in the area to complete certification as part of a larger initiative led by the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce, aiming to achieve the Certified Autism Destination™ (CAD) designation. This initiative will ensure that the area offers multiple certified options for entertainment, recreation, and lodging for autistic and sensory-sensitive individuals and their families.

In addition to training, the center can currently provide a dimly lit space and are researching the best way to incorporate soft seating and sound dampening for sensory-sensitive requests. Guests can contact sjcc@historiccoastculture.com to communicate their needs and request accommodations.

To enhance the visibility of their services and accessible offerings, The Waterworks is also listed on the Accessibility App directory. Through the directory, users are able to view the visitors center's location, the accommodations the organization offers and their address, contact information and hours of operation.

The IBCCES Accessibility App is free for users to download. This app provides individuals with a variety of information and resources related to certified organizations, sensory-friendly spaces, and navigating public locations. By connecting users to locations worldwide, employment opportunities, and access to several other accessibility resources, the app helps individuals with disabilities better navigate life and get the most out of daily activities.

For more than two decades, IBCCES has been a leader in providing autism, sensory and neurodiversity training and certification for professionals worldwide, including those in healthcare, education, public safety, travel, and corporate sectors. As the only credentialing board offering these programs, IBCCES provides training from subject matter experts and autistic self-advocates, along with long-term support, continuous learning, onsite reviews, and renewal requirements to ensure continued growth and lasting impact.

IBCCES also provides access to resources such as CertifiedAutismCenter.com and AutismTravel.com, free online tools for families that list certified locations and professionals. Each organization listed on the site has met Certified Autism Center™ (CAC) requirements.

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About St. Johns Cultural Council
The St. Johns Cultural Council is the Local Arts Agency for St. Johns County, Florida with offices in St. Augustine, America’s Oldest City. We support local artists and cultural organizations through grants, professional development programs, and other capacity-building services to enrich the lives of residents and visitors through a variety of arts, culture, and heritage experiences. In addition, SJCC produces cultural events, funds arts education projects, creates public art exhibitions, and manages two historic buildings as cultural centers for the community: The Waterworks and the St. Augustine Beach Hotel.

The Cultural Council administers the County’s Arts, Culture, and Heritage Grant Program (funded by a portion of the County’s tourist development tax) to provide arts, culture, and heritage destination marketing services for the County’s Tourist Development Council.

Learn more about our programs, services, and the artists and arts organizations we support here and at StJohnsCulture.com.

About IBCCES
Delivering the global standard for training and certification in the fields of autism, neurodiversity, and accessibility – IBCCES provides a series of certification programs that empower professionals to be leaders in their field and improve the outcomes for the individuals they serve. For over two decades, IBCCES has been a global leader, setting the industry standard in autism and cognitive differences training. IBCCES works in over 111 countries and provides training in 8 languages, and its programs have been recognized around the world as the leading benchmark in training and certification.

In addition to individual certification programs, IBCCES partners with cities, destinations, and organizations on initiatives like the Certified Autism Destination™ (CAD) and Autism Certified City™ (ACC), ensuring autistic and sensory-sensitive residents and visitors feel welcomed and safe. Destinations that achieve the CAD designation have completed a specialized program that ensures a multitude of recreation, hospitality and entertainment organizations have completed an autism and sensory-sensitivity training, certification and IBCCES facilities review process. The ACC designation expands on that program and includes IBCCES training and certification for the public safety, education, healthcare and workplace sectors.

IBCCES also created the Accessibility App, AutismTravel.com, and CertifiedAutismCenter.com – free resources for individuals with a variety of neurodiversities and disabilities, listing certified locations and connecting individuals to other resources and each other.

Meredith Tekin
IBCCES
+1 904-508-0135
marketing@ibcces.org
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