Autism

Accessibility in the arts looks absolutely stunning—and we know that thanks to Apple’s partnership with Art of Autism in honor of Autism Awareness Month. To spotlight how easy it is to promote creativity if you look in the right places, Apple gave iPads to 15 autism spectrum artists across the U.S. and Canada. The submissions were curated by the nonprofit. Read more at ArtNet.com

OUR TAKE: The word accessibility is one that somehow confers a complicatedness and difficulty. Apple, not surprisingly, makes programs that are inclusive much simpler. That approach, basic and beautiful, is something the travel industry at large can use as inspiration when designing almost any program with disability in mind. Keep it simple. 

Looking for more information about autism? Search our archives, here.

TravelAbility Insider spoke with Myron Pincomb, CEO of IBCCES about how tele-training and therapy are becoming the new normal for individuals with cognitive disorders and how learning more about them is a chance for DMOs to practice shared community values:

In a nutshell, what training/education services does IBCCES offer for the travel industry?

IBCCES is the global leader in training and certification for professionals who work with individuals with cognitive disorders. Our programs give professionals the knowledge and confidence they need to better serve guest and patients with autism and other cognitive disorders.  

Tell us about the new teletherapy training certification you were planning to unveil later and are moving up the launch to address the Covid-19 crisis?

On May 1^st we will be launching IBCCES Teletherapy Facilitator Certificate™ (TFC)

We have two programs, one is the TFC you mentioned but the flagship one is the Board Certified Tele-practice Specialist (BCTS). This is the program for therapists and other professionals who deliver professional services. Certificate level program is for facilitators, para-professionals, parents, and others who may be assisting the therapist or special educator in the delivery of services online.  A TFC is exposed to best practices and expectations for their role in an online setting.  

Can you describe some trends or advances in teletherapy for behavioral?

In the past 30 days our country has gone from 12% of services for special needs students being delivered online to over 97%.  While the technology to implement teletherapy —and the research to support its effectiveness have been in place for quite some time, studies show that less than 5% of therapists and special educators have been properly trained on how to deliver services virtually. 

Why is it important for a destination?

Due to the COVID-19 remote learning requirements placed on schools there are approximately 4.3 million special education students (US Department of Education) in the US that are sitting at home and receiving either no services or very limited services.  The primary reason for the lack of virtual services is that most schools were not prepared to shift to a 100% virtual delivery model and less than 5% of special education teachers and therapists have received formal training on delivering virtual services  

How do you want DMO’s to become involved?  

We originally planned to launch the program in Fall 2020. With the recent changes imposed by COVID-19, our team has been working 24/7 to get the training complete so we can help get these students needed services. 

The program is now ready, and IBCCES is willing to give this program to schools for FREE or at deeply discounted rates with the goal of helping children to get the services they need.  

What would you like destinations to do, and what is the benefit for them?

DMO’s can help us get the message in front of local school superintendents or special education directors, directors of healthcare clinics and therapy centers, community health center directors and more. 

If DMO’s can help the community to get these services restored for all the special needs kids in their area, it would have a lasting impact locally on community as well as those who visit your area in the future. The clear benefit is that a destination will be connecting with locals , increasing their relevancy to the local community. This program also exposes local professionals to virtual training that will help  in the future education of people with autism or cognitive disabilities. And this corresponds to new research findings that reveal a  need to demonstrate “shared values” in the form of  marketing initiatives  appeal to locals as well as visitors. 

Another perk: for our low-cost paid programs DMO will receive a referral fee for each sale that can be used for post-COVID marketing to bring back tourism revenues. For more information please contact Myron Pincomb myron@ibcces.org.

To find more stories about autism and family travel visit our archive.