AFAM has released a report: Awash in Autism - Why We Must Begin to Address the Critical Need for Services for Adults with Autism in Massachusetts. The report includes an overview of the current state of services in Massachusetts for adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) prepared for AFAM by Caroline V. Budney, M.P.P., and Marji Erickson Warfield, Ph.D., of the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University. The report also summarizes the findings of the survey AFAM conducted over the past year documenting the needs of individuals, 14 years and older, in Massachusetts who have or will have needs for intensive and specialized day, employment, and residential supports when they reach the age of 22.
“Massachusetts is facing a crisis,” said Michael J. Borr, Chair of AFAM. “An entire generation of school children with ASDs are becoming adults. The tsunami is now on the horizon. Indeed the beginning of the wave is hitting the classes of individuals currently turning 22. The supports necessary to enable these young adults with ASD to live fulfilling lives, safe from harm and crisis, just do not exist in forms or to extents adequate to their intense needs or their growing numbers.”
The Awash in Autism report recommends that the Commonwealth establish a task force to develop a better a more complete understanding of the current status and future needs of adults with autism in Massachusetts and assist in the development of effective policy and service options.
“AFAM recognizes that services for people with disabilities in the Commonwealth are severely underfunded and overwhelmed, and that we are in the throes of a great fiscal crisis,” said Michael j. Borr. “But the challenge before us needs to be addressed: the numbers of adults with autism who are now reaching adulthood and the intensity and nature of their needs make this an imperative that cannot be ignored or delayed.”
Click here to view the report.
Click on Adult Services to view related information about the survey.