The Foundation contracted Community Information Now (CINow) to learn more about area adults with ASD – diagnosed or not – and about their needs and those of their families and caregivers, particularly in the areas of housing, skills for independent living, behavior supports, opportunities for social interaction and engagement, education, and employment. At the recommendation of the Foundation’s partner service providers, the scope of the assessment was expanded to include adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) because a large proportion of adults with ASD have IDD and because older adults are much more likely never have been formally assessed or diagnosed with ASD. “Adults with ASD/IDD” is used as shorthand throughout this report. Because the ASD diagnosis entered common use only recently, very little is known about ASD among adults over about 30 years old. CINow was contracted to estimate the number of local adults with ASD, determine how many are not currently in coordinated care, identify common challenges and issues for these individuals and their families, and estimate the annual and lifetime cost of care. The report is available through both the Foundation and ALL websites and was followed by an ALL-sponsored community forum in February 2019.
