Ten best places to live if you have autism
by Patricia
Every parent wants the best for their child. For some families the “best” sometimes means choosing a new place to live. Families have asked me where the “best” place to live is if you have a child with autism. They wonder whether there is one location where services are all top-notch, a place where their child could be guaranteed access to quality treatment and a wonderful community of support.
The good news is that there are great communities and service providers in many locations. And the bad news is that even in the most service-rich areas, not every child is receiving quality intervention. I have worked in dense urban environments (San Francisco) and rural/remote environments (Alaska). Both settings delivered fantastic services.
Autism Speaks just completed an on-line survey on the ‘Ten Best Places to Live if You Have Autism.’ The report has some great stories about communities and their support for residents with autism. The majority of the locales were large urban settings. This may simply be an issue of volume — there are more people whom can respond in New York City than there are in Paducah.
But even in the large urban centers, the majority of respondents in the survey felt that services were still lacking. When asked, I tell families to try to determine where they might find the greatest amount of support. When I was working in rural Alaska, some parents felt some sense of urgency about moving to a larger city for better services. Then I’d see their child with autism playing after school with their cousins who lived in the village, attending school in the village alongside classmates they had grown up with since birth, fishing with their grandfather who was an elder in the village. These children may have had to take a plane in order to see a neurologist somewhere, but they were able to spend every day with an incredibly supportive community.
So where IS the best place to live if you have autism? Parents every day make this personal decision. I look forward to the day when there is no “best” place to live … because every place will be a good place to live.
February 4th, 2023 at 7:36 am
I don’t see the actual list of 10 best places? The link didn’t work. I’m looking for best in the South specifically (SC, GA or maybe NC). I’ve been stuck trying to gather info and resources before making a big move (from Florida where services for adults are either non existent or really hard to find).
December 15th, 2022 at 10:32 am
Here are some of my list:
New Jersey.
Connecticut.
Maryland.
New York.
Pennsylvania.
Wisconsin.
Rhode Island.
Montana.
December 14th, 2021 at 5:17 pm
OH MY GOODNESS. People who are anti-Autism Speaks trigger me so much. Guess what? I am a very autistic, verbal adult woman with her own mind and I STAND WITH AUTISM SPEAKS. They were there for me when no one else was. You guys need to get off the forums and conspiracy sites. PLEASE. FINALLY, You don’t get to speak for all autistic people!
October 24th, 2021 at 9:18 am
Those criticisisng Autism Speaks are part of the lunatic fringe. Their comments doen’t even merit a reply, but I’m leaving this here so that other parents aren’t scared away by the Easter Seals affiliation with Autism Speaks. The people who criticise Autism Speaks are absolute crackpots, who think they’re involved in some sort of eugentics (yes, you read that correctly). Just sharing so you know who you’re dealing with. Carry on!
October 7th, 2021 at 5:08 pm
Autism speaks? You.could more.likely. Concert a Jew to nazism than to get an autistic person to listen to any thing about us.
” Nothing about us without i
us” – ASAN (autism social action network)
September 4th, 2021 at 1:18 pm
Autism Speaks is a joke! They no help and the resources that they partner with offers no active involvement! This organization is now made up of rich donors that only help their own! Looks good for advertisement!
August 2nd, 2021 at 6:26 pm
Autism Speaks is a real POS organization.
July 23rd, 2021 at 8:03 am
Apparently, I’m missing something ➡️ this is the first time I’ve heard people criticizing Autism Speaks.
Could someone please fill me in on why some people feel “they should be shut-down”
March 24th, 2021 at 7:25 am
I have a 20 yr old grandson on the spectrum. He graduated from a special high school for learning disabilities. Tried college but it didn’t work and now all his help and mentors and rehab programs have stopped because of COVID. He has become agitated, aggressive & easily irritated. He also has ADHD and has a therapist. We need a good phyacrist who works with these issues. He lives with his paternal grand mother, uncle and father who do nothing but put him down. I love this child and don’t want to see him die under these conditions and he is being pushed to bathe streets. Any suggestions for help. I’m his maternal grand parent, where do we tune. He won’t live with me, as he was told he is an adult. Please, can someone help us.
March 8th, 2020 at 11:00 am
Most autistic and many parents of autistic children would rather run a mile naked than read anything put out by Autism $peaks. I’m not about to even give them the web traffic by clicking on that link.
June 20th, 2018 at 3:24 am
Is there a list NOT compiled by Autism Speaks? I wouldn’t trust them if they told me the sky was blue.
May 28th, 2018 at 8:08 am
I was hoping for a list of places that was compiled by an organization that actually CARES about people with autism.