CDIJA Becomes the First Certified Autism Center™ in Portugal

Centro de Desenvolvimento InfantoJuvenil dos Açores (CDIJA ) is the first of its kind to become a Certified Autism Center™ (CAC) in Portugal. This designation is granted by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES) to organizations that complete training and certification through IBCCES to help staff communicate with and provide assistance to autistic individuals and those with sensory sensitivities.

“CDIJA has been dedicated to serving and helping those with autism and sensory sensitivities since 2017. The comprehensive service specializes in areas of research, diagnostic evaluation, and intervention. We have a project called ‘Azores all in blue’, which was created with the advocacy of providing inclusivity and accessibility to families with autistic or with sensory-sensitive members to have quality and leisure time,” says Pilar Mota, Managing Director of CDIJA. “With the Certified Autism Center™certification coming from IBCCES”, we will be more recognized as an organization that focuses on serving and helping autistic individuals and other sensory differences. We are so delighted CDIJA  has successfully completed extensive training from leading autism experts, therefore, giving confidence to families who come to us.”

CDIJA offers multidisciplinary and comprehensive supports for special needs children, including diagnosis, therapeutic intervention, research, and training of professionals in their field of expertise to further enhance their offered services and help better serve the autism community and other neurodevelopmental differences.

“We’re proud to work with the CDIJA team to provide more knowledge and support in these areas so they can continue their mission and better serve their clients,” said Myron Pincomb, IBCCES Board Chairman.

For more than 20 years, IBCCES has been the industry leader in cognitive disorder training and certification for education, healthcare, and corporate professionals around the globe. IBCCES provides evidence-based training and certification programs created in conjunction with clinical experts and autistic self-advocates in order to provide professionals serving individuals with cognitive disorders a better understanding.

IBCCES also created CertifiedAutismCenter.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.