To: The United States House of Representatives
Revamp resources for adults with disabilities
State and federal government must create and fund programs to provide quality residential care for adults with intellectual disabilities. The population of adults with Autism and similar disorders will only continue to rise, and their families urgently need options for their long-term care.
Why is this important?
When my brother James was diagnosed with Autism in the early 1990's, this disorder was very rare. In 2000, 1 in 150 children were identified as having autism or similar disorders. By 2010, this number reached 1 in 68 (CDC). Many of those diagnosed will never be able to care for themselves, and many have health and behavioral problems that make them difficult to care for. My brother's first residential placement in Virginia fell through after 3 1/2 years in May. Months of searching yielded only the terrifying reality that there is no other residential placement in the state that can meet his needs. His behavioral issues, while very common in adults with Autism, make it so that no care facility feels that they are equipped to handle him. The nice "homes" that you see on television and in movies for adults with disabilities do not exist; not for people like my brother. James and others his age are only the crest of a demographic tidal wave about to hit. Unless we act quickly to create the infrastructure and the programs to care for those who will never be able to care for themselves, we will be left with countless struggling families with nowhere to turn for help. People with Autism and other disabilities deserve to have real adult lives where they can live in supported, social environments with caretakers who understand their needs. Families deserve to know that their loved ones can be cared for after they can no longer do so.