The International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES) proudly renews Old Town Trolley Tours & Attractions’ Certified Autism Center™ (CAC) designation. Staff completed updated autism and sensory training to renew the certification, equipping them with up-to-date knowledge of best practices and skills to best welcome, assist, and accommodate autistic and sensory-sensitive guests and their families.

“At Old Town Trolley Tours & Attractions, our mission is to be the nation’s storyteller, sharing the positive and inspiring stories of America’s past. Our recertification as a Certified Autism Center™ reinforces our commitment to creating amazing experiences for all guests,” says David Chatterton, general manager of Old Town Trolley Tours & Attractions. “We are proud to equip our frontline team with the training needed to ensure every visitor feels welcomed, supported, and fully able to enjoy the history we bring to life.”

“Their recertification as a Certified Autism Center™ is a testament to Old Town Trolley Tours & Attractions’ dedication to creating experiences that everyone can enjoy,” says Myron Pincomb, IBCCES board chairman. “We are proud to continue our partnership with Old Town Trolley Tours & Attractions, highlighting their efforts to enhance accessibility for every guest.”

In celebration of Autism Acceptance Month, Old Town Trolley Tours provided frontline tour conductors and sales representatives with special autism awareness hats. Guests were also offered autism awareness reboarding stickers to wear throughout their day, highlighting Old Town Trolley’s commitment to creating welcoming experiences for all visitors.

By renewing their CAC, Old Town Trolley Tours & Attractions of St. Augustine continues to play a part in a wider initiative to turn St. Johns County into a Certified Autism Destination™ (CAD). The CAD designation means visitors have multiple trained and certified options to choose from when in the area, including entertainment, recreation, and lodging.

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.

To further support inclusivity efforts, all of the Old Town Trolley Tours & Attractions of St. Augustine are featured on the IBCCES Accessibility App, which is free to download. This app provides individuals with a variety of disabilities real-time guidance on certified destinations, sensory-friendly spaces, and tailored recommendations. By connecting users to accessible locations worldwide, the app helps ensure seamless, enjoyable experiences for everyone.

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.

About Historic Tours of America 

Historic Tours of America, Inc. is an entertainment company which provides historically oriented vacation experiences for guests through the operation of sightseeing tours, historical attractions, high speed ferry, themed retail stores and festival marketplaces in Key West, Florida; Boston, Massachusetts; Nashville, Tennessee; San Diego, California; Savannah, Georgia; Washington DC; Charleston, South Carolina; San Antonio, Texas and St. Augustine, Florida. Their strategy is to capitalize on the Historic Tours of America brand, while focusing on heritage tourism. In this process, they maintain an emphasis on guest communication and satisfaction, product value, superior vehicles and industry trends to expand their entertainment business in each of the cities in which they currently operate and in other vacation destinations across the United States.

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.