Download the Housing and Residential Supports Tool Kit here!
As part of the transition from childhood to adult life, planning inevitably includes housing decisions. Finding and securing housing and residential supports for adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) can be challenging for the individual and the family. Autism Speaks is trying to make this overwhelming journey easier through a series of tools to guide you through the process of establishing residential services and supports for your loved one with autism. By giving you the tools you need to make housing choices, we hope to make this often complicated journey as simple and successful as possible.
The Housing and Residential Supports section of the Autism Speaks website contains several sections that will provide you with the information you need, help you search for housing options, and keep you informed of promising developments, resources, and news in housing and residential supports.
To view Autism Speaks position statement on housing and residential supports, click here.
Autism Speaks Housing and Residential Supports Tool Kit
A tool kit to assist individuals and families as they identify and secure appropriate residential supports and services. The purpose of this tool kit is to:
- Provide an overview of housing options and the supports and services often needed by adults with autism.
- Describe options for funding capital costs, operating costs and residential services and supports.
- Create a structure to help families and, to the extent possible, an individual with autism, consider and plan for the types of residential services and supports needed.
- Serve as a catalyst for expanding opportunities to meet the housing needs of people with autism.
Click here to read the Housing and Residential Supports Tool Kit.
Catalog of Housing and Residential Services
This catalog allows you to see a full list of residential service providers in the Autism Speaks Resource Guide from around the country, and to search for housing options and residential support services by state.
Click here to search the catalog.
*Note: If there are any Residential Services you'd like included in our catalog, click here for the service submission form.
Adults with Autism in the News - Top 10 Recent Stories
Young Adults with Autism Face More Challenges After Finishing School
ABC 5 Eyewitness News - KTSP.com
Allen High Students Help Lehigh University Researchers with Autism Study
The Morning Call - MCall.com
Autism: Where Can Autistic Adults Find Help After High School (blog)
blogs.SAcurrent.com
New Dubuque Facility for Adults with Autism Could Shape System
NBC7 KWWL - KWWL.com
National Autistic Society Launches Campaign to Give People with Asperger Syndrome Equal Rights at Work
HRmagazine.co.uk
If You Care About Innovation, Hire People Who Think Differently
BusinessInsider.com
HUD Makes Available $85 Million to Fund Housing for Extremely Low-Income Persons with Disabilities
portal.HUD.gov
Reminder from April: U.S. Department of Labor Announces Availability of $20 Million in Grants Through Disability Employment Initiative
DOL.gov
When it's Time to Hire, Don't Ignore the Disabled
SmallBusiness.FoxBusiness.com
Home of the Month: PACTT Community Integrated Living Arrangement (CILA)
Each month, we will feature a home that supports adults with autism in a different part of the country.
PACTT opened as a small school called the Learning Center in 1993. Today, it has grown to many times its original size. The PACTT agency now encompasses a school and transition program, group homes for children and young adults with autism, vocational services that provide job training and placement, and a new community outreach division to offer consultation and training services to schools and districts.
Click here to learn more about PACTT. Also, click here to read a blog by Terry Herbstritt, Director of Development for PACTT, and the father of Matt, a 27-year-old man who is served by PACTT's esidential and adult vocational programs.
*Note: If you know of any residential services and supports that you'd like to recommend for the House of the Month, email us at Housing@AutismSpeaks.org.
Spotlight on Adult-Related Community Grants
In addition to our many science research grants, Autism Speaks is extremely proud to fund important new or expanding programs for individua
ls with autism. Our Family Services Community Grants focus on programs that address three areas of need: Education; Recreation and Community Activities; and Young Adult and Adult Services. Since 2007, we have awarded almost $3 million for 141 grants across the country. In this section, we will highlight specifically those programs that serve young adults and adults on the spectrum. To learn more about all of the grants we’ve funded to date, please visit our Family Services Community Grants Database. To view our Science Grants, please click here.
♦In 2010 a $25,000 grant was awarded to the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA. Entitled "DriveAdvise", the project entailed the development of a toolkit and an educational video to facilitate decisions about whether an individual with ASD might consider driving in the future.The video focuses on interviews with a variety of stakeholder groups including ASD individuals, family members, healthcare providers, ASD community leaders and driving instructors who have had experience in helping ASD individuals become safe and licensed drivers. It provides an overview of the unique challenges that ASD individuals encounter when contemplating the decision to drive and aspects of cognitive, perceptual and emotional functions that should be probed in assessments regarding driving competence. The film also features stories of those who have chosen not to drive with emphasis on strategies they and their families have used to maintain independence. The toolkit (not yet completed) will include cognitive and perceptual tests that have been used in the driving literature to predict safe driving. Standard measures will include tasks of motor functions, visual attention, vigilance and speed of response. Novel assessment approaches will also be studied, such as the creation of a set of short video clips of different driving scenarios. The video clips will aid in the assessment about the individual's capacity to grapple with critical aspects of driving that involve “reading” the traffic environment and the nonverbal signals of pedestrians on sidewalks and crosswalks. The toolkit will also be featured in the educational video. Importantly, the educational materials and all outreach efforts will stress the critical importance of balancing safety with independence. For those individuals with ASD who remain non-drivers, materials from DriveAdvise will emphasize strategies for promoting maximum independence and self esteem that are not linked to driving.
Click here to learn more about DriveWise and DriveAdvise.
Housing Resources
The Corporation for Supportive Housing
CSH is a national non-profit organization that helps communities create permanent housing with services to prevent and end homelessness.
Creative Housing Solutions LLC
Creative Housing Solutions provides consulting, technical support, planning and ownership advice, architectural support services, and education in support of the design of environments that support people with varying abilities, interests and lifestyles.
Opening Doors: A Discussion of Residential Options for Adults Living with Autism and Related Disorders
A collaborative study by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Arizona, Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC), the Arizona State University (ASU) Stardust Center for Affordable Homes and the Family and the ASU Herberger Institute School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture.
National Association of Residential Providers for Adults with Autism
NARPAA is an organization that works to assure the availability of residential services and other supports for adults with autism throughout their lives.
Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism
AFAA is a national consortium of organizations working together, led by the vision of individuals with autism and their families, to promote a collaborative spirit and develop both public and private sector support that improve the lives of adults living with autism.
Autism Speaks Transition Tool Kit
The Autism Speaks Transition Tool Kit was created to serve as a guide to assist families on the journey from adolescence to adulthood. The Tool Kit contains a Housing section with information and resources related to residential services and young adults and adults with autism.
The Disability Opportunity Fund
The Disability Opportunity Fund finances creative, highly scalable solutions for people with disabilities and their families. The DOF provides capital and advisory services to its clients, and double bottom line returns to its investors.
Hello Housing
We do more than develop affordable housing for underserved communities. We help transform lives. By bringing together a unique mix of partners and resources, we turn compelling ideas into meaningful solutions.
A National Review of Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders
This Policy Research Brief summarizes the results of a national study on the status of Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) for persons with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Published by the Research and Training Center on Community Living, Institute on Community Integration at the College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota.
Housing Options for Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Bureau of Autism Services, Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare
In this report, the Bureau of Autism Services provides critical information on housing to a range of agencies and individuals. The core of the report is the description of 22 housing models. A typology of seven different housing settings was developed. These include: remaining at home, family living, renting an apartment or home, purchasing a home, shared housing, intentional communities and licensed facilities.
Foundation for Autism Support and Training: ARCHway to Independence
Provides consultation to families of transitioning teens and adults with ASD on issues related to community housing, living and lifespan planning.
Independent Living Resarch Utilization
ILRU Directory of Centers for Independent Living and Statewide Independent Living Councils.
SocialServe.com
NPI/Socialserve.com is a 501(c)(3) dedicated to helping people access affordable housing and supportive services.
ARCH - Federal Funding and Support Opportunities for Respite
This guide provides basic information about each of the federal programs that can provide respite funding or support.
"In the News" Continued...
Autistic Students Shine at Creative Arts Studio
StudioCity.Patch.com
Adults with Disabilities Learn to Perform at College of Their Own
San Jose Mercury News - mercurynews.com
School Offers Support, Basic Life Lessons to Autistic Students
Chron.com
Center Links Valley Autistic Adults to Jobs
USAtoday.com (via AZcentral.com)
Disability Employment Policy - What Are We Missing?
usodep.blogs.govdelivery.com
Graduating Into the Unknown: Idaho Teens Come of Age in the Generation of Autism
BoiseWeekly.com
Making the Transition From Autistic Child to Adult
TauntonGazette.com
Autism Nonprofit to Create Life Changing Vocational Program
PRweb.com
Virtual Reality Sheds Light on Learning with Autism
CapRadio.org
Autism Campaigner Calls for More Understanding
ThisIsCheshire.co.uk
'The Firm is Better Off With Him Than Without Him'
WashingtonPost.com
New Federal Agency Gives Boost to Disability Issues
DisabilityScoop.com
Nonprofit Organization JobPath Helping to Pair Autistic Adults with Jobs
CBS New York - newyork.cbslocal.com
Students with Autism Get Ready for Life After High School
Battleboro Reformer - reformer.com
76 Arrested in Capitol Protest Over Medicaid Cuts
CNN.com
Lack of State Services for Aging Autistic Makes Adulthood Like 'Falling Off a Cliff'
Detroit Free Press - freep.com
ASF and UJA-Federation of New York to Launch Survey of Services Needs of Young Adults with Autism
AutismScienceFoundation.WordPress.com
Phoenix-Based Group Urges Autism Research
AZCentral.com
Special Dreams Farm Offers Life Skills to Special-Needs Adults
Detroit Free Press - Freep.com
The Challenge of Driving with Aspergers
Well.Blogs.NYTimes
Autism Initiative Celebrated at Glyndwr University
Wrexham.com
Autism Getting More Attention From Illinois Legislators
The State Journal-Register - SJ-R.com
A Step Forward - The Obama Administration Creates Administration for Community Living
Disability.Blog - usodep.blogs.govdelivery.com
Benjamin's Hope Begins Construction on Campus for Those with Autism with Prayers
HollanSentinel.com
DHHS Advocate Fears Crisis Among Adults Who Need Care
BangorDailyNews.com
Little City's Agency-Wide "Green" Intiative Provides Opportunities for Individuals with Disabilities
PRweb.com
Mixer for Young Adults with Autism, Asperger's to be Held April 29
GreecePost.com
BOONE Life: Graduating with Autism
ColumbiaMissourian.com
What's the Reuse? Rediscover Recycling with ARC Broward's E-Cycling Center
Sun-Sentinel.com
Career Development for Individuals with ASD
ImpactPublishing.WordPress.com
Guardian Spirit Designed to Teach Vocational, Social, Life Skills to People with Autism
BillingsGazette.com
New Facility to Prepare Teens, Adults with Autism for Careers
TribLocal.com
Activists: Society Not Ready for 'Tsunami' of Autism Cases
MyRecordJournal.com
Austin Mayor Leffingwell Proclaims April 22 'Give Autism a Chance Day'
Houston Chronicle - chron.com
Autistic Teens Face Troubling Times
Thousand Oaks Acorn - m.toacorn.com
As Autistic Population Grows, So Does Need for Jobs
CBS Dallas/Fort Worth - dfw.cbslocal.com
Poll Finds Most Companies Seek Disability Hires
DisabilityScoop.com
Looking to Grow - Adults with Developmental Disabilities Work at A New Leaf
TulsaWorld.com
Graduate Student with Autism Spreads Message that 'Anything is Possible'
TheSetonian.com
ChAPS to Organize Runcorn Pub Nights for People with Autism
RuncornAndWidnesWeeklyNews.co.uk
Spotlight On: Garret Westlake and Disability as Catalyst for Innovation
communities.washingtontimes.com
Venture Comes Up with Pearl of Idea
TheChronicleHerald.ca
Knoxville Community for Adults with Autism Hopes to Expand
WATE 6 News - wate.com
How Young Adults with Asperger's Cope
HealthyState.org
State Growing Plan to Open Community Housing for the Developmentally Disabled
NorthJersey.com
Introducing the Administration for Community Living
Dept. of Health & Human Services - www.hhs.gov/acl
Rose Farm Helps Adults with Autism Bloom
CNN.com
Who Will Give Devin a Chance? - Adults with Autism and the Search for Employment
SaultStar.com
Family Struggles to Find Home for Son with Autism
BangorDailyNews.com
Finding Employment for Teens and Adults with Autism
VistaCBA.com
Autistic Workers: Loyal, Talented... Ignored
The Guardian - guardian.co.uk
Aging Out: When Kids with Autism Grow Up
ChildMind.org
Autism Care and Research Breaks Into Westchester at New York-Presbyterian Hospital
WhitePlains.Patch.com
Austin Young Adults with Autism Step Up to the Table at Spider House Cafe
PRweb.com
Health Watch: Autism and Adults
KTVN 2 News - KTVN.com
States Get Funds to Spur Disability Employment
DisabilityScoop.com
More Support Needed for Adults with Autism in Alberta: ASEA
GlobalTVEdmonton.com
Bill Would Provide Job Support for High-Functioning Individuals with Autism
PostBulletin.com
Advocates Raise Awareness of Autism in Adults
KSTP TV Minneapolis & St. Paul - www.kstp.com
Presidential Proclamation: World Autism Awareness Day, 2012
WhiteHouse.gov
With Autism, No Longer Invisible
CNN.com
Autistic Adults Who Age Out of system Face Uncertain Future
SentinelAndEnterprise.com
The Need for Autism Services Goes Beyond Economics
AutismSpeaks.org
Opportunities Grow for Adults with Autism
TheBostonChannel.com
Finding Challenging Work
HuffingtonPost.com
The Upside of Autism
The Wall Street Journal - online.wsj.com
What are the Top Places to Live for People with Autism?
CBSnews.com
PM Urges Corporate Sector to Arrange Jobs for Disabled Persons
The Financial Express - www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com
New Research Finds Annual Cost of Autism Has More Than Tripled to $126 Billion in the U.S. and Reached £34 in the U.K.
AutismSpeaks.org
Better Diagnosis, Screening Behind Rise in Autism
MSNBC.MSN.com
CDC: U.S. Kids with Autism Up 78% in Past Decade
CNN.com
People with Milder Forms of Autism Struggle as Adults
Simon Foundation Autism Research Initiative - sfari.org
Boca Raton Woman's Focus on Adult Autistics Brings Her National Recognition
PalmBeachPost.com
Outsourcing to the Autistic Rather Than to India
BusinessWeek.com
Institute's Mobile Apps are Built by Hands of Those with Autism
ComputerWorld.com
Autism and Work
youtube.com - BBC News March 2012
Repair Tech Goes to Bat for Autistic Pros
ClarionLedger.com
Ohio Puts Employment First for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities
APSE - nationalapse.wordpress.com
MP Backs New Jobs Campaign
TheStar.co.uk
People with Autism Possess Greater Ability to Process Information, Study Suggests
ScienceDaily.com
Autism Provides a Different View Through the Camera in Md. Program
WashingtonTimes.com
Need Inspiration? Three 'Doing Good' Success Stories
Entrepreneur.com
Breakthrough Race to Help Autistic Adults
KnoxNews.com
Developmental Disability Education & Awareness Month: NV Focused on Jobs
FoxReno.com
ARC Launches Employment Centre for Adults with Autism
TodayOnline.com
Breaking Studies Demonstrate Positive Benefits of Autistic Children & Adults Using Computers
SFgate.com
After 5 Months in Psych Ward, Jeff Paprocki Has a Place to Call Home
DesMoinesRegister.com
Walgreens Bets Big on Employees with Disabilities
DisabilityScoop.com
Adults with Autism Find Alternative Housing
The Miami Student - www.miamistudent.net
Autism Delaware Now Offering Employment Services in Sussex County
The Community News - www.communitypub.com
Department Announces New Effort to Strengthen Accountability for Students with Disabilities
Department of Education - www.ed.gov
Right for the Job: Placement Service a Boon for People with Asperger's
Spiegel Online - www.spiegel.de
Rutgers Program Improves College Life for Students on the Autism Spectrum
Rutgers FOCUS - news.rutgers.edu
Increasing Support for Adults with Autism
icare4autism.org
Center for Adults with Autism Part of New Institute for Well-Being at Towson University
OnlinePRnews.com
Erik's Ranch Designed to Solve Transition Problem
Apostrophe' Magazine - apostrophe.journalgraphicsdigital.com/fall11
Billions Unleashed to Expand Community Living
DisabilityScoop.com
Campaign for Disability Employment Announces Nationwide Video Contest
What Can YOU Do? - www.whatcanyoudocampaign.org
Mini-Grants Offered for Autism Patients
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - www.pittsburghlive.com
Autism Speaks Awards $450,000 in Grants for Two Programs to Encourage Independent Living, Increased Community Participation
AutismSpeaks.org
Recovery Act-Funded Jobs Program Helps High School Grads Who Have ASD
National Institute of Mental Health - www.nimh.nih.gov
Autistic Adults Get Transition Assistance
FloridaToday.com
Building a Special Place for Adults with Autism
Yahoo! News Phillipines - ph.news.yahoo.com
U.S. Pushes Target for Hiring the Disabled
The Wall Street Journal - online.wsj.com
Call for Applicants: Leadership Training for Autistic College Students
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network - www.autisticadvocacy.org
Institutions to Close Under Deal with Feds
DisabilityScoop.com
Oregonians with Disabilities File Class Action Suit Against the Governor, State Officials
OregonLive.com
Sheltered Workshops Offer Little Benefit, Studies Find
DisabilityScoop.com
Dan Marino's Foward Pass for Adults with Developmental Disabilities
Autism Bulletin - autismbulletin.blogspot.com
People with ASD Have Much to Offer Employers
New Jersey Jewish News - njjewishnews.com
Autism Program Set
Asbury Park Press - app.com
Survey Points to Gaps in Pennsylvania Autism Services
newsworks.org
Sketching Skills: Collaboration Between Google, U. Benefits Kids with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Deseret News - deseretnews.com
Adults with Autism Face Barriers
ABC 7 Chicago - abclocal.go.com
Hill Group Developing a Future for Those with Autism
Chestnut Hill Local - chestnuthilllocal.com
Diversity of Autism Offers HR Challenges
Human Resource Executive Online - hreonline.com
Federal Home Loan Bank of New York Awards $33.6 Million for 57 Affordable Housing Initiatives
Yahoo! News - news.yahoo.com
Riverside Foundation Uses Technology to Give Autistic Residents a Voice
Lincolnshire Review - lincolnshire.suntimes.com
British Adults with Autism 'Invisible'
United Press International - UPI.com
Delivering Jobs at the Center for Vocational Rehabilitation
Toms River Patch - tomsriver.patch.com
Some Employers Find Those with Autism Especially Suited for Jobs
napervillesun.suntimes.com
'Cafe Blends' Offers Avenue for Young Adults with Autism
11Alive.com - WXIA TV, Atlanta
Education, Employment and Adults with Autism
ABClocal.go.com - ABC 7, Los Angeles
Dissembly Required: E-waste finds greater purpose at Green Vision
DailyRecord.com
Vacant Church to Become Hands-On Classroom
WNEP.com - 16 WNEP TV, Pennsylvania
Out of the Dark: Autistic Cicero Man Holding his Own
MySuburbanLife.com
Developmentally Disabled Adults Discover the Joy of Independence in Hanover
New Jersey-Real Time News
Despite State Promises, Community Care Waiting Lists Grow
Newsleader.com
Designing the Future: NonPareil Institute
AutismAfter16.com
Christie Administration Announces $5.1 Million Municipal Investment
In Special Needs Housing Initiative
New Jersey Department of Community Affairs
We would love to hear from you! If you have resources, stories or news articles related to housing and residential supports for individuals with autism, please submit them to Housing@AutismSpeaks.org.
Click here for a list of the Autism Speaks Housing Committee Members.
