Five Key Issues to Explore When Considering Housing Options

By: Desiree Kameka Galloway | Autism Housing Network | Denise D. Resnik | First Place AZ

*Originally posted on Autism Spectrum News

Finding the right home for you or your loved one with autism or other intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) can be daunting. While today’s marketplace is finally beginning to offer more options, several important issues should be considered to find the optimum housing environment once the momentous decision is made to move out of the family home. Individuals and their families can contemplate which of these and other options best fit their lifestyle interests, support needs, location preferences and finances.

Residents of The Arc Jacksonville Village, one of various national properties listed in the Housing Market Guide, enjoying new friendships

A great place to start is A Place in the World: Fueling Housing and Community Options for Adults with Autism and Other Neurodiversities. The 2020 report includes more than 150 terms and several examples designed to guide individuals and their families and developers alike. The first resource of its kind focused on supportive housing options, it aims to provide a consumer-friendly resource that advances a broad and more robust marketplace where individuals can better express their housing needs and preferences in terms understood by those prepared to deliver from the private, nonprofit, philanthropic and public sectors.

Co-authors include Arizona State University Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions and its Morrison Institute for Public Policy, the First Place Global Leadership Institute and its Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation Center for Public Policy, Autism Housing Network, and pioneering leaders from all sectors across the U.S. and around the globe.

Just as home options for seniors have evolved and expanded over the past 50 years, individuals with autism and other I/DD should also be able to describe and access a variety of supportive housing choices offering a broad spectrum of services and amenities, diverse locational and lifestyle preferences and funding streams.

The five key issues shared in this article – and much more – can be explored in greater detail in A Place in the World. Consider the following as you build your vision of “home.”