News and Knowledge

Faced with a lack of independent living options for their adult son with autism, a Dallas couple has embarked on a $12 million housing project to develop 29 Acres, a safe and enriching community for adults on the spectrum. The purpose is to improve quality of life, wellness, community engagement, and future outcomes for adults with autism. While fostering a safe and inclusive environment within its walls, Clay Heighten, a retired emergency doctor and founder of a real estate management company, and his wife Debra Caudy, a retired medical oncologist, also hope to encourage meaningful interaction with the local community.

The innovative development plan includes 15 specially designed homes with simple and predictable structures to accommodate the sensory needs of up to 56 inhabitants. Residents will have access to a 7,100-square-foot community center with health and recreation amenities as well as a two-year residential transition academy that will train them to live independently, maintain jobs, and learn new skills. While some residents will be able to live independently, others will require some level of individualized, one-on-one care. To meet that need, the community will employ full- and part-time specialists to support a wide range of developmental challenges.

The plan is to partner with outside businesses and nearby universities for employment and education opportunities and to establish safe and convenient modes of transportation to and from the premises. Providing easy access to nearby towns and university campuses will allow residents to stay safe without being isolated.

This project began when Caudy retired from her oncology practice to care for their son, Jon, who was diagnosed with autism. By the time Jon was a teenager, Caudy realized he would require specialized care well into adulthood. Due to a severe lack of special needs services and support available to adults with ASD after high school, this likely meant Jon’s chance of leaving home and living on his own were scarce to none.

Not wanting to deny their son the opportunity for a fulfilling independent future, Caudy and Heighten researched adult transition programs across the country, then set out to build a special community to help Jon and others young adults like him in the Dallas area transition to adulthood. With the support of a handful of other North Texas autism families and $1 million investment of their own money, they purchased a plot of land north of Dallas and founded the 29 Acres residential community project.

The project is currently in the planning stages while the founders raise funds and collect donations to cover development, programming, and scholarship costs. The goal is to break ground this year, complete about four homes and a small community center by the fall, and move their first residents in sometime in 2018.