Missouri City Parks and Recreation Department Renews Certified Autism Center Designation™, Continues Inclusivity Efforts

MISSOURI CITY, TX, UNITED STATES, May 8, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES) announces the renewal of Missouri City Parks and Recreation Department’s Certified Autism Center™ (CAC) designation. To renew this certification, staff at the parks and rec department completed updated autism-specific training to refresh their understanding of autism and sensory needs and provide them with up-to-date best practices, skills and resources to welcome and accommodate autistic and sensory-sensitive individuals and their families.

"As a Certified Autism Center™, this initiative represents one facet of our ongoing commitment to ensuring our facilities and staff are welcoming, understanding, and responsive to the diverse needs of all members of our community,” says Donnie Hayes, Missouri City parks and recreation director. “We firmly believe that fostering an inclusive environment is integral to effectively serving our residents. Our dedicated staff are eager to extend an invitation: We welcome you to fully engage and enjoy life within our community."

In addition to renewal training, the parks and rec department has also implemented several other initiatives, including:
- Seasonal dances such as Boo! Bash and Spring Fling
- Special Strong Adaptive Fitness
- Special Olympics Young Athletes
- Adaptive Dance Fitness (Fall 2024)
- Adapted Bingo
- Adapted Archery

“We are excited to continue our partnership with Missouri City Parks and Recreation Department, renewing their designation as a Certified Autism Center™,” says Myron Pincomb, IBCCES board chairman. “Creating an environment where every person is welcomed and included is a huge step forward in accessibility, and we look forward to seeing the continued impact of this certification.”

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, Missouri City Parks and Recreation Department is 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 Missouri City Parks and Recreation Department
The Missouri City Parks & Recreation Department (MCTX Parks) is a Texas Gold Medal Award-winning department comprised of two separate divisional operations that maintain and operate a wide variety of park and natural areas, trails, athletic complexes and other facilities.

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
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn
Instagram
Facebook
X