Additional Autism Housing Resources
The following autism housing resources are intended to support your loved ones as you embark on this exciting journey. This list is in no way inclusive, which is why you should also seek the assistance of any local groups or organizations that you have worked within the past.
As you continue to plan for the future, remain mindful of the following resources:
- National Association of Residential Providers for Adults with Autism This organization works to assure the availability of residential and other supports for individuals with autism.
- Autism Housing Network This organization brings together the best ideas in housing for adults with autism and other intellectual/developmental disabilities.
- Hello Housing This organization develops affordable housing for underserved communities.
- Autism Speaks Being the largest advocacy organization in the United States, Autism Speaks offers a wide range of resources, including a housing and residential supports tool kit.
For those who reside in Utah, the Adult Autism Center Of Lifetime Learning is available to answer your questions about housing for adults with autism, in addition to providing ongoing education and support. Learn more about our programs today!
Supportive Group Homes For Adults With Autism
The Brambles encourages adults with autism to live with as much freedom and independence as they wish. Our group homes and day support services provide ongoing support for the individual and assist them in living the highest quality of life possible.
You may to find additional details on our group homes for adults with autism, as well as information on our day services.
Contact us for more information on The Brambles adult group homes or to schedule a tour.
The Brambles is committed to providing the very best of care in a warm, loving, family setting.
Day Programs For Young Adults Who Remain At Home
Easterseals offers day programs for people with autism so they can enjoy socialization and recreational opportunities and participate in the community. While people with autism who participate in Easterseals day programs might need some supervision, they need only minimal assistance with activities of daily living.
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Group Homes For Autism: How To Find The Right Placement
Do you have a child, teen or young adult who needs placement in a group home for autism and you are wondering how to find one near you? Whether your son or daughter has autism, severe autism, high functioning autism, Autism Spectrum Disorder , Asperger Syndrome , or Rett Syndrome, here is information about how to find the best housing options and residential placements available.
Nonprofit Provides Housing For Adults With Autism
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CLACKAMAS, Ore. This week was a long time coming for residents of a small, but vibrant housing complex in Clackamas.
I have a home of my own, smiled Ciara Boyd proudly.
Seeing Ciara look up to me and say, Dad, I love it here!, that kind of warms a dads heart, said Mark Boyd.
You can sense Boyds pride as he walked amongst the 22 units, each one as unique as the person who lives inside.
My daughter is actually one of those people that just recently purchased a unit here, he said. And she has never been happier. We searched for 20 years, to find that place where she could feel she belongs, and that was right for her to have the security and the type of social interaction that’s necessary with folks that are functioning at her level. And so this has been a godsend and an answer to prayer.
Boyds daughter Ciara has autism, just like all her neighbors. The small community is the first of its kind built by WeBUILT, an arm of Next Step Strategies.
Which is a nonprofit, intended to help individuals who live on the spectrum to live at their highest level of independence, said director Ann Wilkinson, who is one of the two support staffers who live at the complex.
She’s done an amazing job with the quality, but also just the personalization. So that person can feel comfortable and it’s just beautiful, said Mark.
Next Step Strategies hopes this project will open the door for more possibilities for people to find both housing and independence.
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What Is The Cost Of A Group Home For Autism
According to NeuroBrilliant Magazine, the cost of living in a group home averages between $65,000-$120,000 annually. This covers the entire cost of the individual living in the facility, including food, utilities, and the payment to the caregivers who help the residence daily.
Group homes are funded by a number of sources including parent income, the individuals income, SSI, SSDI and other government programs.
Villa Maria In Maryland
Villa Maria School provides educational and clinical services for children with significant emotional, behavioral and learning challenges.
Villa Maria School has highly trained staff that work in partnership with our parents. They make every effort to assist each child in the return to their home school or to a less intensive program as soon as is possible. They help children become better learners, understand their feelings, and change their behaviors.
The school services children in grades Pre-K through 8th grade and has a short-term diagnostic residential program as well.
Learn more about all that Villa Maria has to offer by calling 667-600-3100 or by visiting their website.
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Other Issues To Consider
- Health services coordination and medication administration
- Behavioral and mental health support
- Respite for caregivers
- Support at home
- Family support
Funding your physical home and paying for the supports you need are usually separate parts of this process. You’ll need to decide how you will pay for the residence, who will manage the property, who will pay the utilities, and who will contact the service providers for help.
For the actual physical house, you will need to consider the public and private funding options available in your state.
For service supports, you will need to consider applying for public funding – through Social Security and Medicaid – and/or private pay options. Find the service providers in your state.
Seamless Transitions From Residential Living To Day Support
We recognize the importance of adhering to a scheduled, familiar routine. This is why transportation and support services are all done right here on our property at The Brambles Day Support Center. This enables our residents to look forward to engaging with familiar drivers and day program staff members.
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Autism Housing Assistance At The Adult Autism Center Of Lifetime Learning
The autism community is full of incredible people, willing to offer their time, knowledge, and support. At the Adult Autism Center of Lifetime Learning, we have developed a center that is the first of its kind. Providing hands-on training, with a core focus on vocational skills and daily living, we help adults with autism reach their highest potential.
In addition to helping adults with autism find assisted living for themselves, our services and programs cover everything from fitness education to culinary skills, home living to social and leisure skills. This helps those living with autism to better prepare for the future, as they work towards independence.
These programs will help individuals learn and strengthen new skills so that they are able to work towards the type of housing arrangement they most desire. Our goal is to help adults with autism achieve their goals so that they can experience the highest possible quality of life.
Residential Placements For Children With Severe Autism
When a child needs to live outside the home environment, this is usually done because the behaviors are too much to handle in a family situation and naturally the process is much more emotionally difficult.
If you are seeking a group home or residential care for your severely autistic child, know that you are not alone. Other parents have walked this road, too. You have not done anything wrong as a parent, and the wellbeing and needs of the whole family need to be considered when making the decision.
While it might feel like placing your child in a group home is a step backward, remember that if your childs needs are too much for you to handle in a home situation, your child will ultimately be safer and happier in a situation where they can be supervised and managed in a way that keeps them safe and helps them live up to their full potential.
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Find The Right Setting For Your Child
Depending on where you’re living, there are various agencies that manage residential settings for adults with disabilities. In addition to state-run agencies, you may also want to search for independent residential centers by state, region, or county. You might want to start your search with your local school district or state agency. In addition, though, you’ll probably want to check in with local autism support groups and search databases to find a broad range of options.
If you do go through a public agency, says Ehlert, ask for a case worker who will offer a list of places to look at. “Parents and guardians need to go out and look and see what’s out there,” she says. Take an ‘official’ tour, narrow down your options, then turn up for a visit unexpectedly. Ehlert recommends that you research each option, looking carefully at:
- Staff turnover
- The quality of individual caregivers
- Availability of round the clock and “duly diagnosed” support
- Length of wait list
Ehlert notes that children with higher functioning autism may be brought in early in the decision making process, depending upon your particular circumstances. It is important to ensure the budding adults’ wishes are given strong consideration.
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The Woods In Pennsylvania
The Woods program provides innovative, comprehensive and integrated health, education, housing, workforce, behavioral health and case management services to more than 18,000 children and adults in the intellectual and developmental disability, child welfare, behavioral and brain trauma public health sectors who have complex and intensive medical and behavioral healthcare needs.
The Woods provides care for children and adults with Autism, Developmental Disability, Emotional and Behavioral Challenges, Brain Injury, and Prader Willi and medical complexities.
Contact The Woods through their website or by calling 800-782-3646.
Consider Living With Relatives
Theres nothing wrong with living with your family. For adults with autism, it can even be a better choice than getting a house or apartment of your own. With family, you have a support system in place to make sure daily tasks get taken care of. And youll get help handling situations that make you feel uncomfortable or anxious. If you dont have relatives nearby, think about your friends.Are there any that you would enjoy living with? And would they be willing to be your housemate? For high-functioning adults with autism, roommates are a great option. They provide a social network and can help you stay on track with your responsibilities. Just make sure they understand what you need before deciding to move in together.
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Turning 22 With Autism
The relative lack of information for and about adults on the spectrum means that many parents or guardians suddenly find themselves scrambling when their childnow a young adultreaches the magical age of 22.
That’s because, on their 22nd birthday, people with autism suddenly lose their entitlement to services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and enter the much chancier world of adult services.
While the IDEA requires schools to offer “free and appropriate education” to all children, there is no such requirement for adults. As a result, funding and programming for adults may or may not be available at any given time.
Questions To Ask Your Loved One Before They Move To Autism Living Facilities
Also, be sure to consider the unique needs, interests, and preferences of your loved one. For example:
- Do you want a dog or cat where you live?
- Is having your own bathroom important to you?
- Are you comfortable living in a home with the opposite sex?
- Do you want an area where you can cook?
These considerations are one of the most important aspects of an individuals autism accommodation plan, as they experience and journey towards independence, they should be as individualized and unique as they are.
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Variability In Adults With Autism
Not all adults with autism are alike.
- Some adults with autism have successful careers in demanding fields such as information technology, robotics, and video game production.
- Some work part-time while also taking advantage of day programs and resources.
- Some are unable to function in the workplace and spend their days in sheltered settings.
- Some adults on the spectrum are happily married or partnered.
- Others have romantic friendships.
- Some are unable to form meaningful, reciprocal relationships with peers.
These vast differences make it just as tough to define or provide services for adults with autism as for children on the spectrum.
Identify The Child’s Specific Needs And Abilities
The next step is to identify a child’s life skills to figure out what supports will be needed to make the living situation workable. Key among the skills young adults will need to live independently is the ability to manage finances, shop, cook, clean and manage personal hygiene. Bear in mind, though, that very few typical young adults are fully prepared for life on their own. Would you worry if a neurotypical 20-year-old were living on pizza and take-out food, or wearing the same jeans twice before washing them? If not, perhaps you shouldn’t worry too much about your 20-year-old with autism doing the same.
Ehlert explains this well:
“Parents or guardians may have higher expectations for autistic kids than for neurotypical kids because they feel responsible for the autistic child’s happiness. It’s hard to allow autistic children to fail. In some ways, it’s easier to manage failure for neurotypical kids because parents or guardians feel it’s part of the learning process – whereas they often want to protect their children with autism from failure. It’s very hard to know how far you go to protect your loved one with autism. Sometimes failures might set off behaviors, or it may be too difficult to recover from failure. Usually, parents or guardians of a teen understand what that child needs.”
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Determine If The Ideal Setting Exists
Once parents or guardians have identified an ideal living situation, the next step is to determine whether such as setting already exists or whether the family will have to create the setting. A surprising number of parents or guardians are involved with or considering involvement with the creation of a residential setting for their child with autism. Some are funding or developing supportive living situations others are envisioning and creating work/home settings in towns, cities, and rural areas.
Often, information about adult living situations in your state or province is available through school district sources. If not, you may need to look into the Department of Developmental Disabilities, Department of Public Welfare, or other appropriate agency. Do your homework to determine what’s out there.
Challenges Within The Autism Community
Autism awareness has risen dramatically over recent years, resulting in more information and resources available to address the needs of the autism community. Children with high functioning autism certainly benefit from these resources, with access to necessary intervention services from infancy through the schooling years. On the other hand, adults with autism do not have nearly as many resources as do children but in the past several years, more research and support has been dedicated to serving these adults.
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Finding The Right Home As Children With Autism Become Adults
Available adult living options for people on the autism spectrum vary from state to state and individual to individual. Possibilities range from complete independence to institutional living. Figuring out just what a particular individual needs, where to find it, and how to fund it, can be a complex process.
Marianne Ehlert of Protected Tomorrows works with the families of people on the autism spectrum to plan for adult living. She notes that it’s important to begin thinking about adult living while your child with autism is still young. In part, that’s because children with autism are usually eligible for disability, special education, and transition programs through their schools, which means that a child’s educational program can be crafted to support their plans for the future. It’s also because the process of thinking through, planning for, and creating an ideal living situation for a person on the autism spectrum may take a long time.
How To Know If A Young Adult With Autism Needs A Group Home
The decision to for a young adult to move into a group home is one that takes careful consideration for both the autistic individual and their family. There is no one path to housing, but instead explore ways to manage this life transition from a positive frame of mind.
Some factors to consider for group home placement can include:
- What are the persons desires?
- Does the person need support for every task, a few tasks, or just once in awhile?
- What are the transportation needs?
- How will healthcare be managed?
- What is available for recreation, employment, volunteering, and friendships?
- How will money be managed?
No matter the situation, focus on the individual and his or her strengths, needs, challenges and preferences.
Consider using a Community-Based Skills Assessment which will help determine the eight areas of functional life skills.
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