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A Responsive, New Wave of Real Estate Options for Adults with Autism and for Special Populations
Exciting new models for supportive housing are emerging, changing the landscape and raising the bar on dreams and expectations for the neurodiverse population. Far too many young adults are graduating from high school to the couch. They are socially isolated, unemployed or underemployed, and...
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The Dilemma of Aging Parents with Adults with Autism Still Living at Home
In a summary of key findings from the 2015 National Autism Indicators Report, we aging parents now have confirmation: “Young adults with autism had the lowest rate of independent living (19%) compared to their peers with other disabilities.”1 The 2015 State of the State in Developmental...
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Leaving the Family Home: Opportunities and Obstacles for Autistic Adults
When we think about the future of individuals on the autism spectrum, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Who will help them create their weekly schedule? Where will they work? How will they connect with friends? Who will assume the daily support role once parents can no longer provide...
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Direct Access Application Revolutionizes Service Delivery for People with Disabilities
You need a job. You need a home that provides support. You want to be involved in your community. You want all of these things yet the system that is in place before you is arduous to navigate and often leaves you feeling discouraged. TOUCH (Therapeutic Outreach Uniting Community Health) was...
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Accommodations After High School: What Now?
Just getting into college, let alone succeeding there, is stressful for many students and their families. When a student is on the autism spectrum the whole process can seem unmanageable. What do you do when you have what it takes to succeed in higher education, but you struggle with things like...
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Building Comprehensive, ABA-Informed Services in an Adult Residential Setting
Throughout the United States, services for school-aged children with Autism have been bolstered by IDEA (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). Of the services IDEA has made available, those informed by the science of applied behavior analysis (ABA) are gaining broad recognition as the...
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The Creation of a Model Independent Living Program: The POINT Program of White Plains, NY
One of the most perilous times in the lives of young adults on the spectrum is the transition from the stability and structure of school to lives away from their parents’ homes - lives with as much independence as possible. I know this road well because I am the mother of a young man with an...
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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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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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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...
