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Creating Innovative Housing Models Using Medicaid State Plan Services
Approximately 90% of adults with autism are not employed full-time or are underemployed, and more than 80% of young adults with autism live in the family home (1). Nationally, the cost of a studio apartment is 90% of the federal SSI payment rate (2). Finding workable housing solutions for...
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Doctoral Study Shows Parents are Concerned for Their Adult Child’s Future
The process of transitioning to adulthood is always difficult for parents; more so when their children have special needs. For parents of young adults with ASD the challenges are manifold, including but not limited to financial problems, social difficulties and long term care and planning. Long...
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A New Way of Thinking About Autism
On April 29, 2013 Dr. Thomas Insel, the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), wrote on the NIMH Director’s Blog that the Institute will be re-orienting its research away from currently used diagnostic categories (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual or “DSM”) and...
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How to Improve the Public Special Education System: Empowering Parents, Educators and Treatment Providers
The Special Education system in New York City is an ever-evolving work in progress, and any shortcomings of the current system might be excused by the difficulty of the task at hand and/or the relatively short time-frame the system has had to evolve. Other challenges include changes in the...
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A Place of Their Own: Residential Services for Soon-to-Be Adults with Autism
An unprecedented number of families will soon watch their children with autism leave school and flood the adult disability system. Up to a half million children with autism will reach adulthood in the next decade, according to estimates.1, 2 These children, the first wave of the so-called...
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Residential Farms Provide Housing and Employment for Adults
The U.S. autism community is facing a “perfect storm.” More adults need services amid economic crisis and budget cuts. Today, about 300,000 adults are living with autism (Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism, n.d.). The total annual cost per adult with autism is roughly $71,000 in 2009...
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Robots as Co-Therapists in Behavior Therapy for Individuals with ASD
Recent technological advances have opened the possibility of using robots in therapy for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This approach has received a lot of press, but to date most research has focused on developing the robots rather than clinical issues related to the use of...
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Searching for an Appropriate and Safe Residential Community
As the adult population with ASD grows and their parents age, the primary concerns of the parents or guardians are: Where will my son or daughter live when I am not here? Where can my adult/child live even in a semi-independent community setting? Who will be responsible for managing the over-sight...
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Selecting Quality Residential Services for Adults with ASD
There has been much discussion about bridging the gap between school services to adult services for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Families might experience this transition as a leap into the unknown. The daunting task of finding quality services for individuals with ASD is a cradle...
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Summer Offers Opportunity for Skill Development for Children and Young Adults with ASD
Summer can be a perfect time for children and young adults to leave their everyday environments and discover new opportunities for skill development. Yet parents of children and young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) often struggle with the idea of immersing their child in a new...
