The Acting Academy for Autism is a Gold Coast Theatre Conservatory program for high-functioning third- through eighth-graders with autism or Asperger’s syndrome.

The program’s spring session will run from Jan. 30 through April 23.

Classes will be from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Mondays at the Discovery Center for Science and Technology, 43 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks.

The new course was designed by teachers who have credentials to work with special needs students, autistic adults, student teachers and theater training professionals.

The academy will provide a safe atmosphere where young people with high-functioning autism can study theater.

Materials will come from standard, published plays from 400 B.C. to modern times.

Classes are capped at 10 students, with three teachers per class.

During the final class, students will showcase their work with scenes, monologues, theater history and original pieces that they have written.

Elizabeth Angelini, an instructor and one of the academy’s founders, received her degree from Pitzer College and has Levels I and II credentials as an education specialist in mild/moderate disabilities.

Angelini was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome when she was 12 years old.

She has been teaching since 2003 at schools like The Help Group, Tulsa Street Elementary School, Passageway School and The Dubnoff Center in North Hollywood.

The fee for the 12- week course is $350.

For information or to schedule an interview, call (805) 427-5314, email GoldCoastTheatre@gmail.com or visit www.goldcoasttheatreconservatory.com.