by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:20 PM ET, Thu April 5, 2018
For travelers with autistic children, Sesame Place is the place to be.
The park became the first theme park in the world to complete training to become a Certified Autism Center (CAC).
Located in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, officials announced the exclusive designation on World Autism Day Monday. As a CAC certified park, all staff members will be specially trained to work with autistic guests.
The training employees at Sesame Place underwent covered areas like sensory awareness, motor skills, autism overview, program development, social skills, communication and environment and emotional awareness.
Sesame Place must take the autism training course every two years to keep its certification.
"Sesame Place is honored to be leading the theme park industry through our commitment to making our facility friendly for families with children on the spectrum," Sesame Place park president Cathy Valeriano said in a statement. "We're dedicated to providing all of our guests with an exceptional and memorable experience. We look forward to applying this training and expanding our commitment to help spread awareness about autism."
When Sesame Place opens for the season on April 28, the amusement park will feature accommodations for guests with autism, including quiet rooms, noise-canceling headphones, and low-sensory areas.
Guests will also be able to interact with Julia, a Sesame Street character with autism that was introduced in 2015.
"Since her debut, Sesame Street's Julia has touched the lives of millions of children and families around the world and we're proud that partners like Sesame Place are committed to providing autism-friendly experiences," Sesame Workshop general manager Scott Chambers said. "We applaud them for earning this distinction."
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