Arts Visalia Gallery is now a Certified Autism Center™ (CAC), a designation awarded by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES). By completing autism-specific training through IBCCES, the Gallery joins Visit Visalia’s initiative to achieve the Certified Autism Destination (CAD) designation which means that visitors will have a variety of trained and certified entertainment and lodging options in the area.

“The Board of Directors of Arts Visalia welcomes the opportunity to enhance our gallery experience for a diverse community by ensuring that our staff and the administrative team received training from IBCCES, which allows us to reach out to those autistic visitors,” said Michelle Goans, Gallery Director of Arts Visalia Gallery.

Arts Visalia Gallery, together with other autism-certified travel and entertainment options in Visalia such as Tulare County Museum, Valley Oak Golf Course, Hampton Inn Visalia, Downtown Visalians, Comfort Inn Visalia, and Lamp Liter Inn, is part of Visit Visalia’s ongoing effort to achieve CAD designation.

“IBCCES is excited to work with the Gallery to ensure visitors and residents can enjoy and experience the arts in a more inclusive environment and for them to join the community movement, so families and individuals have more travel options,” said Myron Pincomb, IBCCES Board Chairman.

For more than 20 years, IBCCES has been the leader in cognitive disorder training and certification for healthcare, education, and corporate professionals around the globe. IBCCES created programs specifically for the hospitality and recreational organizations such as hotels, theme parks, and other attractions so staff would be more knowledgeable and other accommodations could be offered to this growing, but underserved, part of the community. IBCCES is the only credentialing board offering these types of programs, which include training from subject matter experts and autistic self-advocates, as well as long-term support and continuous learning, onsite reviews, and more.

IBCCES also created AutismTravel.com, as a free online resource for parents that lists certified locations and professionals. Each organization listed on the site has met Certified Autism Center™ (CAC) requirements.

About Arts Visalia

Arts Visalia is a visual arts center located in the heart of downtown Visalia.  Housed in a historic building, the gallery features a diverse monthly exhibition calendar, gift shop, and art classes for youth and adults. For 26 years, Arts Visalia has remained true to our goal to provide a place that the Tulare County community and its visitors can consider its center for visual arts. Our mission is developing and promoting the visual arts to enhance the quality of life in our community. Our monthly exhibits and gift shop feature local, regional, and national artists, and provide opportunities for artists to interact with the public.  Art classes are held year-round for all ages. We want to bring a more diverse community of artists, students, and visitors into the gallery to reflect our community at large more accurately. To this end, our staff and administrative team have completed training through the Certified Autism Center to make our gallery experience more rewarding.