We are fighting so people with disabilities can live in the community with real supports instead of being locked away in nursing homes and other institutions

Dedicated to sharing ideas on alternative living arrangements for autistic people

The present case study describes the experience of one young woman with a history of life-threatening, self-injurious behaviors who moved from a large public institution to the community.

Interdisciplinary Undergraduate and Graduate Education in Disability Studies; Applied Research, Policy Analysis and Scholarly Dissemination; Community Education, Technical Assistance and Information Dissemination.

Many adults with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) will need help and support in order to live independently. Others may need accommodation in a residential home in order for all their needs to be met.

The founder of the New Hampshire based "Access" program, John Vance, and his colleague, Lance Fortner, talk about the importance of finding the right place for individuals with all types of disabilities, including Asperger's Syndrome and autism.

There are concerns within the disability community that inclusion is not always the best option for every person with every disability, and that involuntary inclusion is as problematic as involuntary segregation.

Developmental disability and mental illness have increased. And in terms of funding, infrastructure and social awareness, mental health is well ahead of developmental disability as evidenced by the present Senate Select Committee on Mental Health. Few doctors work in the area of developmental disability and in most cases medication cannot make any substantial difference. What is needed is co-ordination of services, early diagnosis and ongoing intervention, along with adequate government funding, support for intensive tailored programs and social and psychological support for families. Those affected by developmental disability directly or vicariously need lifetime support.

Provides housing in Montgomery County, Maryland for adults (21 years or older) with autism. Their homes give them an alternative to living in an institution or in their parents' homes, and allow them to exercise some independence as adults.

The instituting of training and management practices within day centres, group homes and institutions for the intellectually disabled are a consequence of the perception that intellectually disabled people have no capacity for sociality as they are.

Typical residential services are not the only option. Also available are programs in which a staff person comes to the family home to assist with caring for an individual. Another option called Consumer Directed Community Support, which is administered by the local county, allows a family to hire their own staff.

While Alternative Living Units and group homes remain the predominant form of residential services in Maryland, there is a move towards "self-determined" housing � direct rental and home ownership.

Residential programs for adults with disabilities are offered on both sides of State Line Road, but experts say this project is different from most. The parent-driven project not only allows participants to live on their own, but also lets them live within walking distance from almost everything they might need.

A national center for information, training, research, and technical assistance in independent living, affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine

Sudden and untaught integration is seldom a successful experience for the disabled student or for peers and staff. Integration behaviors can be taught systematically and successfully through a reverse chaining procedure.

Focusing on those individuals whose needs are the most challenging and complex, and who have often found great difficulty in achieving stable residential placements.

Programs must be client centered, using positive behaviour support, with state-of-the-art teaching techniques developed into written programs, with well-trained staff, who stay around long enough to know the client well.

Affordable Housing, Community Care Facilities (CCFs), Family Home Agency, Foster Family Agency, Independent Living, Intermediate Care Facilities (ICFs), State Developmental Centers and Smaller State-Operated Facilities, Supported Living Services

This document is a collection of eight separate reports. Each report focuses on the accessibility and effectiveness of community-based services from the perspective of members of a particular population in Maine. Includes "Case Study of Older Parents of an Adult Child with Autism."

Families of people with disabilities may need to fully investigate as many options as possible for recreational outlets. The first step is to identify the interests of the person you are supporting.

Adults with autism are emerging as people who very often require a continuation of the intensive training they received in childhood and adolescence in their educational years.

I wholeheartedly support increased spending on health so that everyone's health needs are better met. But this should not be at the expense of a vulnerable group of people who cannot act for themselves.

This paper reports on the first full-scale empirical study of the prevalence of autistic spectrum conditions among the population of the three Special Hospitals in England.

This report reviews the aspects of care specific to cerebral palsy that a medical home should provide beyond the routine health maintenance, preventive care, and anticipatory guidance needed by all children.

These include different types of accommodation such as 'group homes', 'intermediate facilities', 'wards in the community', 'boarding-and-care homes', 'supervised hostels' or 'sheltered apartments'.

Choosing the right residential situation for a young adult with autism can be one of the hardest decisions a family has to face. It is challenge to wade through the myriad of options available even the most experienced of parents and caregivers.

There may be an overriding individual desire to be totally independent of any formal support system. Care providers need to be able to provide flexible services which can incorporate the more informal support systems that the individual may tolerate.

In today's podcast I speak with Julie Cashin of Monadnock Developmental Services about her role as Director of Children's Service Coordination and the issue of which is best for kids with developmental problems: Town or country?

Living arrangements for older adults with intellectual disability are an important aspect of service provision. However, relatively little work has examined service users' satisfaction and dissatisfaction with where they live. Interviews were conducted with 92 service users with intellectual disability aged over 40 living in residential accommodation or with parents or guardians. A questionnaire addressing service users' living arrangements was completed by 103 carers or guardians. Service users identified physical features of living arrangements, the provision of activities, and staff as primary contributors to satisfaction. Primary contributors to dissatisfaction were staff issues such as hindering personal independence, impatience and personnel shortages. Service users living with family or guardians were more likely to report being happy but also to report loneliness than those in group homes. Carers' responses largely mirrored those provided by service users but differences emerged with respect to appropriateness of existing accommodation.

A majority of people receiving Mental Retardation/Developmental Disability residential services live in homes of 6 or fewer people now; many of them live in homes of 3 or less.

I recently got a question I haven't heard in a long time. Someone innocently asked, "...so you don't find that institutions helped you?" I'm trying to remember the last time, if ever, that I thought of help when I thought of those places. I can't figure out what is supposed to be helpful to an abused and distressed autistic person about being thrown in a building with a bunch of other people, put on assorted reward and punishment programs, tied down on a regular basis, put on an assortment of drugs that just kept rotating as they seemed to think one would "work" (to do what I don't know), and all the other things that go on in institutions.

Affiliated with the Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education, Bristol

The writer, who is also a psychologist, explores the agonizing decision to seek a residential placement which is currently unpopular but sometimes necessary.