News and Knowledge

At age 24, our son, Matt, represents a generation of more than 500,000 U.S. children with autism entering adulthood this decade. In many ways, I’ve been planning for what happens when the school bus stops coming from the first day it arrived. Where will he live?  How will he be safe? How can we be sure he’ll be happy, healthy, productive, and not sliding backwards?

The reason for my focus?  A mother’s love…and also a mother’s fear. This point in time is what I have feared most for Matt and for so many of our transitioning adolescents and adults. Fear that someone who doesn’t know them will be making decisions about their critical transitions and their futures. Fear that our options will be limited and not right for our loved ones. Fear that we will not be here to help them transition away from our family homes to homes where they can build their adult lives, continue to learn, make friends, and contribute to the communities that support them.

Enormous challenges like this one cannot be addressed alone. We must work together to create new and more innovative options bringing together all sectors—public, private, and charitable.

Insights from Our Research

During the past 15 years, Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC), Arizona State University (ASU), the Urban Land Institute, Arizona Department of Housing, and many of the most respected trail blazers in real estate have studied 100 existing residential options across the country, involved more than 100 local family members and individuals with autism in focus groups, co-hosted a national town hall that included 16 cities, and evaluated new and creative approaches with leaders from all sectors across the country. Here’s what we’ve learned:

• We cannot build homes for three or four people at a time and accommodate effectively for the 50,000 children with autism entering adulthood annually, in addition to affected adults aging into mid- and later life.
• We must take full advantage of a generation of children with autism empowered by early intervention and new and significant advances in technology and design.
• We must also separate supportive services from real estate ownership to maximize choice for residents, allowing them to select service providers that best meet their needs today and as they change over time.
• We cannot rely exclusively on government with its dwindling resources.
• We need more choices. There is not a one-size-fits-all solution.

The Results of the Research: First Place AZ

Established in 2012 as an independent sister nonprofit to SARRC, First Place AZ is focused on community and property development with the mission of empowering people with autism and other special abilities to thrive through homes, jobs, friends, and a supportive community.

Our first model mixed-use residential property, First Place-Phoenix, is set to break ground this spring. Sited in the heart of the city, property residents and students will enjoy all the benefits of urban life: public transportation, employment, health care, lifelong education, recreational opportunities, and diversity. Importantly, First Place is not congregate care, assisted living, a licensed facility, or a medical home. It’s also “disability agnostic.”  It’s about matching the interests and needs of individuals with the right property location, design, and amenities.

First Place-Phoenix includes:

• Fifty studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments that can be rented by residents and which are supported by a portfolio of independent living services and property amenities that support greater independence, safety, security, health and wellness, smart home technology, community connections, and all the comforts of home

• The Transition Academy, a two-year, tuition-based program empowering young adults with independent living, career development, and interpersonal skills. Residents are not required to participate as students in the Transition Academy; however, students may choose to become First Place residents following completion of their program.

• A National Leadership Institute for the training and education of direct support providers and health care professionals, as well as a home for research, including doctoral fellows from ASU and Teach For America alumni.

Working Together To Go Farther, Faster

First Place collaborates with other emerging and established residential options across the country through our participation in the Coalition for Community Choice (#ChoiceFirst). A national grassroots alliance of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families and friends, disability rights advocates, professionals, educators, and housing and service providers, the Coalition aims to increase options for, and decrease barriers to, housing and employment choices.

Consider the power of hope, of setting our sights on futures we work for, save for and that we don’t fear Consider what we can do as good neighbors, in our places of work and worship, and through our civic and nonprofit organizations to help people like Matt and all our kids succeed as valued members of our society. We have an enormous opportunity to pioneer new approaches, create more diverse choices and match residential offerings and supportive services with demand across North America.

Denise D. Resnik is a nationally recognized leader in the autism community. She is the co-founder and board member emeritus of the Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC) and more recently the founder, president, and board chair of First Place AZ. In her business life, she is founder and president of the marketing and communications firm, DRA Strategic Communications. The Phoenix-based agency, founded in 1986, serves clients in a variety of fields including real estate, economic development, health care, education, hospitality, and entertainment. She also serves as a member of the Arizona Community Foundation Board of Directors and the Arizona Advisory Board of BBVA Compass.