By Denise D. Resnik, Founder & President/CEO, First Place AZ/First Place Global; Co-Founder, Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center; and Matt’s Mom
We had packed it all: extra meds and a change of clothes, plenty of word search puzzles, power cords, patience and a plan. I even had pictures of Matt’s identification loaded on my phone. What I didn’t have: the hard copy of his passport or state ID.
What should have been the typical, easy 60-minute flight from San Diego to Phoenix spiraled into an eight-hour ordeal—and a timely reminder for National Accessible Air Travel Day on August 20.
The Southwest Airlines agents were kind, calm and well-trained. They didn’t need a long explanation about our son’s autism. They understood the importance of clear communication, practical accommodations—and dignity. Our experience with TSA was a different story.
After I paid the $45 TSA ConfirmID fee so Matt’s identity could be verified, I was directed to a chair in a corner for our son and told a supervisor would return in 10 minutes. We still had more than an hour before boarding and I was assured we would be fine.
Matt sat patiently completing his word searches while I stood and watched for the supervisor. Ten minutes became 20 before I respectfully and politely started nudging the TSA agents managing incoming passengers, who acknowledged me with a few kind words.
Three different TSA supervisors stopped by, each requiring me to re-explain everything. A San Diego police officer conducted a background check. Then came my more emotional plea about not wanting to miss our flight—and one agent’s quip that tears were not going to help and there was no way we would make it.
So we rolled the dice. We booked the next flight with one open seat, put one of us on standby and held seats on a later evening flight, just in case. The good news: We both got on the next flight. The not-so-good news: It was delayed by several hours.
So we walked…more than 10,000 steps, with breaks for stretching, word searches, snacks and small purchases—including my overpriced favorite suckers. We practiced scanning items, using a credit card, making eye contact, offering proper greetings and following public restroom protocols (thanks to those private family restrooms).
While Matt was learning, so was I—and we were together. We looked at photos from our recent family vacation reminding us of fun times in a cooler climate. We played lots of games. I added items to his schedule that he could happily check off. He also enjoyed his favorite videos while I caught up with a longtime friend who also happened to be at the airport—someone who has supported our autism journey from the start and who shared that his grandson had just been diagnosed. I was reminded of many soul-nourishing moments along the way.
I learned all over again why we should leave nothing to chance—or at home—when we travel. Especially when it comes to proper ID. Photos on a phone may be helpful, but they’re no substitute for what’s required at the checkpoint. TSA ConfirmID can be a resource for adults without standard identification, but it is not guaranteed and clearly not fast. Families should also plan for additional time to anticipate unexpected delays.
This unfortunate incident reminded me of the power of people who do not demand a detailed explanation, like a trained airline agent or a patient stranger. The comforts of a family restroom and a chair in a quiet corner. These are not luxuries. They are essential parts of what makes travel possible, manageable and—at certain times—even bearable.
National Accessible Air Travel Day reminds us that accessible travel is more than ramps, wheelchairs and boarding procedures. It’s also about a collective, keen awareness of sensory needs, cognitive disabilities, communication differences, caregiver roles—and the invisible burden families carry every time they step into an airport.
For families preparing to fly, resources can help. The Arc’s Wings for Autism/Wings for All offers airport rehearsal experiences so people with autism and/or intellectual/developmental disabilities can practice check-in and security procedures, waiting at the gate and boarding a plane. Southwest Airlines also provides information about cognitive and developmental disability, including assistance from curb to gate and during connections. These tools matter because practice builds confidence—for travelers, families and aviation professionals.
For airports, airlines and federal agencies, the need is clear: Train, listen, communicate and design systems that recognize the full range of passenger ability. A person with autism may not look like someone who needs support. A parent or caregiver may appear calm until the system stops working for them. A delay that is inconvenient for one traveler can be destabilizing for another. Air travel opens doors—to family, work, adventure, independence and belonging. But those doors must be accessible, predictable and dignified.
As we acknowledge National Accessible Air Travel Day, I am grateful for those whose shoulders we stand on, for advocates pushing the aviation industry forward and for every professional who chooses patience over policy-speak. I am also mindful of the work still ahead—one airport, one checkpoint and one person at a time.
Prepare for takeoff!
Join the conversation at Dimensions 2026, First Place Global’s 15th symposium, October 14–16, in Phoenix, Arizona. Register here.
By Denise D. Resnik, Founder & President/CEO, First Place AZ/First Place Global; Co-Founder, Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center; and Matt’s Mom
The early 1990s feel like a different lifetime. When our son Matt was diagnosed with autism, we were living in a pre-internet world. There were no online communities, no databases and very little peer-reviewed clinical data to guide us. We were a handful of parents navigating in a vast, silent vacuum.
In those early days, we were forced to become pioneer citizen-scientists. When our children couldn’t sleep, eat or find peace, we refused to accept the mainstream narrative that nothing could be done. Exhausted but driven by fierce parental love, we pursued early interventions, intensive therapies, vitamins and biochemical protocols. We tried them then because we knew intuitively what science confirms today: The gut, the immune system and the brain are profoundly interconnected. We were desperate, demanding that medicine incorporate the whole body.
We’ve traveled a long, arduous road since the days of pig-derived secretin injections. Today, through Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC), we build on that pioneering spirit by anchoring our work in rigorous, multisystem data. Yet as I look out at the landscape in 2026, a massive, critical void remains. We have gotten better at treating children—but we’re still failing them when they grow up.
Our focus can no longer be siloed. We must widen our lens to encompass the entire, vibrant spectrum of autism and/or intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD), recognizing that many individuals live with complex, co-occurring medical and behavioral conditions, including autism, Down syndrome, Williams syndrome, cerebral palsy and other neurodevelopmental profiles.
We face a critical disconnect between childhood services and adult realities for this diverse population. This is precisely why our theme for Dimensions® 2026, the 15th First Place Global Symposium, is “Bridging the Gap.”
To successfully close the divide, families, clinicians, housing developers, educators, employers and healthcare workers must move forward with a unified strategy that recognizes both clinical optimization and community design:
In my experience, when an individual is in acute biological distress—from underlying neuro-inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction or severe GI pain—it is a medical priority. We must aggressively investigate and treat these root-cause systemic issues. However, we must also pair an intensive clinical focus with a long-term strategy. Clinical optimization and community infrastructure must go hand in hand.
A clinical diagnosis alone does not dictate an individual’s lifestyle, home preferences or support needs. Whether a person has autism, Down syndrome or Williams syndrome, two individuals with the exact same diagnosis can have completely opposite sensory sensitivities, social goals, medical complexities, and behavioral support needs and preferences. Educators, developers and clinicians must assess the whole person, not just the clinical label.
To scale housing and support options nationally, developers, funders and care providers need a shared, structured language—such as the framework established in A Place in the World®: Fueling Housing and Community Options for Adults with Autism and Other Neurodiversities (3rd ed.)—to accurately measure demand, secure funding and build sustainable properties that accommodate various levels of cognitive, physical and behavioral support for the autism and/or I/DD population.
There is no “right” residential model for the autism and/or I/DD community. Just as the senior living market evolved to offer everything from active independent living to memory care, our community requires a more diverse marketplace. This includes urban apartments, suburban and rural planned neighborhoods, and co-housing options with a range of price points to support a range of wants and physical, medical and behavioral needs.
True independence relies on the ability to navigate the community autonomously. We cannot build supportive housing in isolated areas where residents are cut off from society. Housing developers and community planners must select sites within walking distance of public transit, employment, medical care and recreation—including accessibility for those with mobility challenges.
Through First Place AZ’s Be Open, Be Ready® workplace/workforce initiative, we advise employers and educators not to lower the bar for individuals with autism and/or I/DD but to adjust the environment accordingly. Clearly structure onboarding, minimize sensory overload in layouts, use visual checklists for multi-step tasks and focus on output instead of forcing neurotypical social/workplace conformity.
Any progressive practitioner will tell you that a body trapped in a perpetual “fight-or-flight” response cannot heal. A chaotic, sensory-hostile living or working environment triggers chronic stress, directly fueling cellular and metabolic inflammation. By building neuro-inclusive housing and workplaces, we aren’t just making life easier—we’re creating a therapeutic biological sanctuary. Stabilizing the environment lowers systemic cortisol, acting as a critical co-therapy alongside targeted medical protocols.
We must build a two-way street between emerging translational medicine and real-world behavioral outcomes. First Place–Phoenix, a model R&D flagship property, along with collaborating sites through First Place Global, offers a unique opportunity to track how multi-systemic health improvements translate into independent living skills and workplace success. We welcome rigorous data from all disciplines, including functional, metabolic, behavioral and neurodevelopmental research, to help us determine what optimizes a person’s ability to thrive—while guiding our steps and informing our hearts.
Don’t let the pursuit of clinical perfection derail daily progress. Keep daily routines functional, attainable and simple. Concurrently treat co-occurring medical conditions—like epilepsy, sleep disturbances, thyroid dysfunction and/or GI pain—through aggressive, standard medical paths instead of viewing them as behavioral idiosyncrasies to be ignored or managed with sedatives.
With millions of adults with autism and/or I/DD living with aging caregivers, the broader community—including policymakers and philanthropists—must build natural, enduring support networks. An individual’s security must not collapse when their parents pass away. We must weave adults of all abilities into the permanent fabric of our neighborhoods.
When Matt was a toddler, my goals were to survive the night, find the right preschool program and soothe his physical distress. But from a mother’s heart, I also learned something that data alone can never fully measure: Hope is a discipline and giving up is never an option. Today, my goal—and the collective mission of First Place Global—is to ensure that adults across the entire spectrum of autism and/or I/DD can flourish in communities that welcome them as neighbors, classmates, employees—and friends.
Dimensions® 2026, First Place Global’s annual symposium, will focus on bridging the gaps separating individuals with autism and/or intellectual/developmental disabilities from the vital housing, healthcare, employment and education they need for more independent lives of purpose and possibility. We hope you’ll join us in this endeavor!
By Denise D. Resnik, Founder & President/CEO, First Place AZ/First Place Global; Co-Founder, Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center; and Matt’s Mom
In preparation for Matt’s 35th year and the 10-year anniversary of the First Place–Phoenix groundbreaking, I’ve been reflecting on where we’ve been, where we are and where we need to go.
When Matt was diagnosed with autism in 1993, there was no roadmap for our family—no internet to guide late-night searching, no established playbook for what a meaningful adult life could look like—and scarce examples of what was possible beyond childhood. Like so many families, we were left to navigate uncertainty while trying to build a future we could not yet envision.
Out of that uncertainty came a sense of urgency and a simple but powerful realization: If the community and infrastructure we needed did not exist, we would have to help build them. That spirit helped shape Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC), First Place AZ and the broader work that continues today.
This week, we celebrated Matt’s birthday surrounded by family and friends who have been there from the start, along with his First Place–Phoenix neighbors who taught him how to play Mario Kart and always cheer him on. They are the same neighbors who express their appreciation for Matt’s kindness, participate in his favorite Uno and Scrabble games, and remind him to bring two water bottles to weekly workouts. They are those in his life who don’t get paid to care about him—or each other.
None of this began with buildings alone but with families, questions, heartbreak—and a fervent refusal to accept that isolation, stagnation or limited expectations should define the future for those we love.
We now know more about what adults with autism and/or intellectual/developmental disabilities need to live healthy, connected, purpose-filled lives. We also know that housing should not be separated from other key social determinants like health, employment, education, connection, public policy and the broader community.
Yet even with all we have learned, too many families still face the same looming questions: Where will my son or daughter live? Who will support them when I am no longer able? What options will exist for people with different strengths, needs, resources and aspirations?
Such urgent questions demand more than compassionate answers. They require intentional community development, measurable outcomes, benchmarking, supportive public policy, shared investment—and the courage to keep building and learning.
First Place Global’s 15th symposium, Dimensions℠ 2026, will reflect honestly on history—not dwelling on what was missing but honoring what families, self-advocates, practitioners, researchers, policymakers and community leaders have made possible. Together with tireless leaders in our field, we will continue charting a course that moves us beyond scarcity and one-size-fits-all thinking toward a new generation of housing and community options that are more diverse, more sustainable, more affordable and more responsive across the lifespan.
Building community doesn’t happen quickly. It takes connections, practice, natural consequences, lessons learned—and lots of celebrations. This work is deeply personal to me and so many others because of the history we carry and the community we create together. While data and outcomes are important to advancing our mission, stats don’t tell me everything Matt needs, what makes him happy—or what his smile and heart are truly saying.
Watch highlights from Matt’s 35th birthday party here.
Join the conversation at Dimensions 2026, First Place Global’s 15th symposium, October 14–16, in Phoenix, Arizona. Register here.
By Denise D. Resnik, First Place Global Founder, President/CEO & Matt’s Mom
I’m energized by how leaders are staying in touch, comparing and sharing notes, and moving work forward together in ways that weren’t happening a decade ago. I’ve been struck by the different tone of conversations. Less “someday.” More “here’s what’s next.” A collective hope driving sustainable action.
We’ve matured as a community—and so has the housing marketplace for adults with autism and/or intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD). We have proven models, are learning to speak the same language and are rewarded with purpose-driven collaborations that break through historic, siloed mindsets.
We’ve seen a surge in shovel-ready proposals reflecting not just ambition but also a clear understanding of the roadblocks communities face and the conditions we’re uniquely positioned to help navigate.
Supporting informed decision-making
Here’s what that cross-pollination is producing—not as isolated success stories, but concrete examples of what’s possible when communities are equipped to build and contribute to an emerging marketplace.
First Place Global recently launched its 13th housing market analysis in the Chicago area. This new collaboration with Autism Speaks is engaging record numbers of local leaders and stakeholders to gather new data, identify barriers to demand, and explore how public, private and charitable sectors can collaborate. The analysis will provide actionable information for advocates, policymakers, developers and family members to support informed decision-making and accelerate housing solutions.
What begins as shared language and a clearer understanding of market options and research leads to more choices. Fueled by aligned partners and funders primed to accelerate next steps, we’re also reaching across the spectrum and specifically addressing those with profound autism and high support needs. (Refer to the third edition of A Place in the World: Fueling Housing & Community Options for Adults with Autism and Other Neurodiversities®.)
What’s striking isn’t just that things are moving but how they’re moving. Conversations once stalled around assumptions—or ended over conflict—now have shared reference points. Meetings that once evaded the problem are now focused on timelines, real estate and feasibility studies. That shift—from “what if” to “here’s how”—is the wellspring of momentum.
Data making the invisible visible
Chicago isn’t alone. Phoenix and Denver changed zoning ordinances by removing regulatory barriers to allow for the development of supportive housing for adults with disabilities. Such changes don’t just enable a single development; they also lower barriers for subsequent projects.
Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina, and Cincinnati, Ohio are primed with shovel-ready, neuro-inclusive properties. Real timelines. Real buildings.
Montgomery County, Texas prioritized county-owned land for affordable, accessible housing developments serving adults with autism and/or I/DD—a significant policy shift that opened doors to other developers.
Rochester, New York drove stronger advocacy, expanded representation of self-advocates and families on the blue-ribbon commission, and informed testimony that sparked a statewide taskforce to address housing for adults with autism and/or I/DD, along with a plan for 1,000 new housing units for this population.
More seats at the table in connected communities
These aren’t random wins. They share the same DNA: local leaders working with better information, a shared language for what’s needed and partnerships that bring together people who hadn’t previously been at the same table. Data making the invisible visible. Relationships turning parallel efforts into coordinated ones. Trisector collaboration resulting in leveraged investments.
While we’re on our way, we’re not there yet. Building a marketplace as robust as senior and student housing requires many more choices along with the all-important industry benchmarks. This kind of work isn’t spontaneous. It’s intentional, reflective and innovative. It takes shape through real projects, real policies and real partnerships. It grows as communities stay connected—and keep learning and building with a true marketplace of options as our collective reward.
American clergyman William Sloane Coffin once wrote that hope has two beautiful daughters: anger at the way things are and courage to change them. I often think about that juxtaposition. Righteous and focused anger conveys that our loved ones deserve better than waiting lists and the next empty bed. The courage shows up when leaders and communities translate conviction into land-use decisions, when ground is broken and doors are opened—and when we get to experience the people we love flourishing in our lifetimes.
More seats at the table await. We invite you to engage, support this movement and consider leading a housing market analysis in your community. Turn hope into action at info@firstplaceglobal.org.
By Denise D. Resnik, First Place Global Founder, President/CEO & Matt’s Mom
I’m still thinking about the shared experiences from the Dimensions™ 2025 symposium and moments between formal presentations: bus and break-time conversations, tears and laughter, sudden goosebumps and quiet nods of recognition between people who had been strangers just hours before. Those experiences felt like something important was taking shape.
During three powerful days, we discussed housing, health, employment, policy and culture. But the real story was what happened when all those efforts began to cross-pollinate—when people who care deeply about these areas shared what they’ve been cultivating in their own communities. That’s what market transformation looks like: an ecosystem coming alive, roots intertwining beneath the surface.
At First Place Global, we are building the systems, standards and valued networks that make inclusive housing, employment, healthcare and lifelong learning practical and scalable. What were isolated success stories have become reliable systems that—with the power of examples—communities can replicate and localize.
We heard from featured speaker Jane Wei-Skillern, Ph.D., about her Four Network Principles for Collaboration Success, among the most popular articles in the 15-year history of The Foundation Review.
During the symposium, we experienced those four principles in action:
These principles mirror how First Place Global approaches market transformation by leading through trust, collaboration and shared success.
What moved me most was realizing that growth no longer depends on charitable nonprofits like us to plant every seed. It’s about policymakers and various aligned private- and foundation-sector sponsors joining us, led by Arizona-based presenting symposium sponsor and longtime First Place AZ champion Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation, which embraces network leadership in its markets across the U.S.
New shoots are sprouting everywhere—local leaders trading lessons, researchers partnering with developers, families linking arms with employers. The network is taking on a life of its own, nourished by shared purpose and collaborative care.
Our next chapter is about keeping the connections growing. Market transformation doesn’t happen through a single, perfect plan; it happens the way healthy community gardens do—when neighbors come together to sow seeds, tend the soil, and ensure there’s enough sunlight and space those seeds need to grow.
If you left Dimensions 2025 feeling that spark, we encourage you to nurture it. Follow up with the person next to you. Share your experiences, your challenges and your next steps. Reach out for help prepare the ground for your next project—whether it’s through an A Place in the World® Housing Market Analysis, training, curriculum or a Vote the Spectrum® collaboration. Every conversation, shared insight and act of collaboration is the seed for building home and community.
As featured speaker Fred G. Karnas, Ph.D., former senior advisor to the U.S. HUD Secretary and forever friend of our cause, reminded us, “We can almost be certain that what we create will fall short if we do not listen to those with lived experience and their families.”
Let’s keep listening, talking and learning how to turn pilot projects into living ecosystems where ideas take root in local soil and spread through the simple act of staying connected and growing together.
Watch for the 2026 webinar schedule and plan to join us next year in Phoenix, Arizona for the 15th First Place Global Symposium, Oct. 14–16.
First Place Global and Madison House Autism Foundation just released the much anticipated third edition of A Place in the World (APITW): Fueling Housing and Community Options for Adults with Autism and Other Neurodiversities. The updated 2020 report includes new research and maps a path forward for communities ready to shorten those interminable waitlists and close that persistent gap. By working together, we can reshape what home can mean for the special populations we serve.
By Denise D. Resnik, Founder & President/CEO, First Place AZ and Desiree Kameka Galloway, Director, Autism Housing Network
At 6:45 each morning, Marcus checks the transit app, grabs his packed lunch and catches the #51 bus to work from his parents’ home. He’s been following this routine since high school—setting alarms, managing his meds, tracking appointments, establishing the rhythm of adult life. His family started looking for housing options when he was 15. They were told to start early and plan ahead to build independence. They were diligent in preparing him to leave the nest.
Marcus, who has autism, is now 26. Housing leads chased for over a decade have turned up waitlists, group homes and options with a level of dependence he has outgrown. After years of preparation, they face a quiet cruelty: a system that encourages people to be ready for futures it can’t deliver.
Marcus’s family did everything by the book—and more. They got a head start on the housing search when he was 15. They hired a transition consultant, attended workshops and built networks with other families. They researched programs in three states, toured settings that felt more like facilities than homes and filled out applications for places with 10-year waitlists. If a family this organized, resourceful and supposedly ahead of the curve is still hitting dead ends, what happens to families juggling multiple jobs, language barriers or their own health crises?
Marcus represents the leading edge of what advocates call the “inclusion generation”: young adults who grew up with better early intervention, stronger educational supports and higher expectations than any generation before them. They learned to navigate public transportation, manage complex schedules and advocate for workplace accommodations. They practiced independence in supported settings, built confidence through success and grasped that preparation leads to possibility.
They’re ready—but the housing market and system of adult support services isn’t.
The math is grim. Roughly 120,000 autistic young adults exit the school system each year— a total of 1.2 million over the next decade, many with skills adults with autism and/or intellectual/developmental disabilities from their parents’ generation never had the chance to develop. But when these young adults look for housing or jobs, they find only options frozen in time—systems built around outdated assumptions about capability and designed as one size fits all instead of choices tailored to unique needs.
Too often, the only available option is whatever group home or adult foster care bed becomes available when someone moves away, reverts to family support or dies. That’s not a “choice.” For Marcus, it means risking that his carefully built independence skills will fade while he waits for housing designed around needs and limitations defined by others.
What if Marcus’s story could be different? What if families could describe what they need—not just housing but the specific supports, community connections and design features that match their situation—and communities could respond with precision instead of guesswork? And what if innovative partnerships could make possible the combination of the signature strengths of three key sectors: private enterprise, public systems and nonprofit community organizations supported by charitable investors?
For the past five years, advocates, families, policymakers, housing developers and private foundations focused on various returns on their investments have been anticipating those “what ifs,” creating detailed frameworks to help communities understand actual demand, design options that match real lives—and the importance of moving faster from good intentions to open doors.
The question isn’t whether adults like Marcus are ready for independence. It’s whether we’re ready to build the range of choices he and his family have been preparing for all along.
After doing everything right, Marcus is still waiting.
First Place Global and Madison House Autism Foundation just released the much anticipated third edition of A Place in the World® (APITW): Fueling Housing and Community Options for Adults with Autism and Other Neurodiversities. The updated 2020 report includes new research and maps a path forward for communities ready to shorten those interminable waitlists and close that persistent gap. By working together, we can reshape what home can mean for the inclusion generation.
By Denise D. Resnik, Founder & President/CEO, First Place AZ and Desiree Kameka Galloway, Director, Autism Housing Network
Families of people with profound autism and complex medical needs are often forced to face two hard choices: Hold on long past exhaustion or accept crisis-driven, unsuitable housing placements. Too often, the outcome is the “next empty bed”—wherever a vacancy appears—regardless of location, fit or long-term stability and devoid of dignity.
In many communities, housing pathways are highly regulated and risk averse. Local zoning, Medicaid financing rules and program design guardrails are written to prevent the re-creation of institutions—but can also make it hard to create community-embedded options that would better serve individuals with higher support needs. Innovation stalls. Families wait. Optimum residential options remain scarce and a path to nowhere is perpetuated.
The third edition of A Place in the World®: Fueling Housing and Community Options for Adults with Autism and Other Neurodiversities (APITW) addresses this gap. For the first time, the report includes profound autism and delves deeper into its associated complex medical needs, offering a practical framework for communities to plan and build housing that meets those needs.
Planning for this population rarely happens on a calm timeline. Many families are forced to act when crisis hits. Some do not have the means to save; even those who plan find few options designed to address the complex needs inherent in profound autism. Defaulting to short-term placements negates hard-won progress for individuals with profound autism.
Yet, where families have shaped solutions out of necessity, others have followed: 29 Acres in Texas, Independence Way in New Jersey and Unumb Place in South Carolina are demonstrating how to combine homes, support services and neuro-inclusive amenities with meaningful community life. APITW offers the missing framework, along with a proof of concept, for local communities to explore the possibilities.
The third edition of APITW brings profound autism into focus:
APITW does not prescribe a single model. It offers a credible map whereby high-support needs are prominent and acknowledged in local housing strategies.
APITW helps communities advance beyond the pattern of the next empty bed by making planning specific. With a common vocabulary, families and partners can:
This is how innovation gets unstuck: naming what does and does not work, bringing key stakeholders to the table and designing housing environments that honor people, local communities, and meet profound and complex needs.
Communities are already moving. At 29 Acres, families helped build a planned community that blends independent living with higher intensity supports in a walkable neighborhood. Large porch swings, wide sidewalks, a sensory-engaging pool, gardens and goats are just a few of the amenities you’ll see as you stroll through this neighborhood.
Independence Way built its supportive apartment community to include a group home for those with high support needs. Redefining suburban living, they partnered with local paratransit for direct community access, connected pathways to community walking trails and used extra-durable and high-end finishes in all units.
Unumb Place developed a live-work-play campus designed around profound needs with opportunities for growth and connection. The community includes six homes, each with four suites so residents have their own living space, as well as live-in support staff in a shared-living arrangement.
These properties are not outliers; they’re early proof that community-based housing can be stabilizing, replicable—and a place where people can thrive. With APITW as a roadmap, others don’t have to start from scratch or reinvent the same steps.
Start with APITW (3rd Ed.). Use the segmentation to describe your loved one’s needs; then share that language with your local partners. Ask housing developers and community leaders to review APITW’s examples and design features. Connect with families who have developed solutions and compare notes on what worked—and what needs to work better. Add your emerging solutions to the Autism Housing Network Housing Directory and inspire others to join you. You can influence what gets built by bringing clear definitions, feasible design concepts and real-world examples to the table.
Profound autism belongs in every housing conversation. With A Place in the World, families and communities have a viable framework to replace crisis moves with thoughtful, community-anchored solutions—so people can live meaningful, confident lives close to the places they call home.
Above is “Jonah Draws,” a collage by Erika Lutz, who created the image in 2017 by cutting up drawings her profoundly autistic brother Jonah made and discarded. For Erika, it was a way to collaborate with her brother and express her love for him.
By Denise D. Resnik, Founder & President/CEO, First Place AZ and Desiree Kameka Galloway, Director, Autism Housing Network
Millions of adults with autism and/or intellectual/developmental disabilities across the U.S. have no housing plan beyond the family home—and family members responsible for caregiving are aging fast. Housing developers can leverage data and design principles to make housing more neuro-inclusive and fiscally viable.
More than 1.3 million adults with autism and/or intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) live with caregivers over age 60 who provide “informal” support without training or backup. Chronic crisis management is disguised as workable, sustainable infrastructure. When such arrangements end, these adults and their families face costly options: emergency placements in group homes or adult foster care, unnecessary institutional settings—or homelessness.
Individuals with disabilities experience homelessness at 2.5 times the rate of the general population. The segment of the population with cognitive impairment experiencing homelessness, including individuals with intellectual disabilities, ranges from 12% to 39% (Spence et al. 2017, Durbin et al., 2018). What looks like a social-services challenge is a predictable infrastructure failure around which budget-conscious communities can plan.
Families aren’t waiting for government solutions. They’re organizing—bringing land, seed capital and operating partnerships to the table. The just-released third edition of A Place in the World®: Fueling Housing and Community Options for Adults with Autism and Other Neurodiversities (APITW), the guiding narrative of supportive housing for the broad spectrum of adults with autism and/or I/DD, profiles 20 properties with diverse funding models and community types. The properties are not prototypes but working models demonstrating fiscal viability for better outcomes and indicating residents are thriving: building friendships, life and job skills—and autonomy for the first time in their lives.
APITW’s universal language has led to housing market analyses (HMA) completed or underway across 12 U.S. communities, helping them move from wishful thinking to actionable development plans that define market segments and demonstrate what people need and want in housing.
HMA data from nine communities show approximately five in 10 respondents seek either mixed-use or planned neuro-inclusive communities. Yet, housing this population can afford remains nonexistent, inaccessible and/or unsafe. The current approach misses opportunities and wastes resources. Meanwhile, 120,000 autistic young adults exit school systems annually—often “graduating” to the couch and losing hard-won skills—while state developmental disability agencies fail to provide housing and support options.
Only 8,200 additional adults with autism and/or I/DD across the country have access to supervised housing placements annually; this includes any type of setting—not necessarily preferred or in their community.
Consider First Place–Phoenix, a consumer-controlled property in Arizona designed for residents with low- to moderate-support needs, where 75% to 80% of residents are working or volunteering, living more independently than their peers and reducing the cost of supports over time. While some see First Place–Phoenix as their “forever” place, most residents live at the property for approximately two-and-a-half years before moving on to their “next” place after gaining independent living skills, making friends and/or finding jobs.
In Dallas/Fort Worth, 29 Acres was developed for individuals with autism at all levels of support needs, including those with profound autism. They often move in with the need for two-to-one or one-to-one supervision. Most can reduce their need for support over time due to life skills development and fewer behavioral dysregulations.
Parents With A Plan in New Jersey identified an underutilized eyesore of a property and turned it into a valuable mixed-use, neuro-inclusive development called THRIVE Red Bank. While focused on real estate, they also sought and partnered with the esteemed Rutgers Center for Adult Autism Services to provide supports for autistic residents.
However, when public systems respond with rigid eligibility rules, one-size-fits-all placements and/or interminable waitlists, such private investments cannot reach scale. For example, Pennsylvania statutes limit the number of persons with disabilities in a single property to 25% of units to avoid the risk of loss of services. Communities are forced to pay more for crisis intervention while turning away families ready to co-invest in proactive solutions.
While intermittent federal efforts can help, infrastructure exists at the state level to change this unworkable equation. Washington state’s housing trust fund infuses millions of dollars into housing for adults with autism and/or I/DD. States like Florida and Indiana have added set-aside funding incentives for their Low-Income Housing Tax Credit programs geared toward neuro-inclusive housing development. New York provides capital- and project-based rental subsidies as an incentive to housing developers who commit to a certain number of units for adults with autism and/or I/DD receiving services. Colorado provides predevelopment technical assistance grants allowing landowners to explore the feasibility of affordable neuro-inclusive housing. These state and federal supports, when available, enable local action—but only for communities with established planning frameworks.
It takes vision, data and strategic partners to come together for more desired outcomes. The components to create more innovative housing options already exist in your community, including the following:
The choice is not whether to invest in this population but whether to spend proactively on infrastructure—or reactively on crisis management. Communities that plan can leverage federal momentum, attract family co-investment and build housing that meets the varying levels of need of individuals with autism and/or I/DD.
Use APITW’s proven framework to make the fiscal case for inclusive housing infrastructure in your community. The demographic shift is predictable. The policy tools exist. Will your community lead or follow?
By Denise D. Resnik, Founder & President/CEO, First Place AZ and Desiree Kameka Galloway, Director, Autism Housing Network
For developers already building affordable, market-rate or supportive housing, this overlooked population may prompt your promising next move.
If you’ve ever layered tax credits to build affordable housing, partnered with a nonprofit service provider or designed apartments with embedded supports for seniors, you’re closer than you think to a win-win market opportunity.
You know how to navigate zoning challenges. You understand public, private and philanthropic capital stacks. You’ve built for long-term tenancy, valued community amenities and stable occupancy. What’s missing isn’t capacity—it’s clarity about opportunities for expanding into adjacent markets.
Until now.
The third edition (2025) of the groundbreaking 2020 report, A Place in the World: Fueling Housing and Community Options for Adults with Autism and Other Neurodiversities®, is built to change that.
Each year, more than 120,000 autistic young adults leave the school system. Most have been raised with higher expectations, stronger support systems and more real-world experience than any generation before them. Many have routines, long-standing community ties and want a job. But when they and their families look for options that match their readiness, they find waitlists, inaccessible housing, outdated group home models and a disjointed, complex system of community-based services.
While families wait, developers are overlooking a sustainable, underbuilt market segment of unserved demand with the potential for growth—and the chance to better understand its needs and preferences.
One of the most significant barriers to entering this space isn’t cost but communication. Most housing developers are not fluent in the terminology or systems of disability supports and services. Likewise, most disability service providers are not fluent in development timelines or financing models. This disconnect creates unnecessary risk, inefficiency, confusion—and lost opportunity.
The new edition of A Place in the World (APITW) fills that gap. The updated report includes nomenclature to help aligned organizations—developers, public agencies, nonprofits, foundations—speak the same language. It segments housing demand by development type, support needs, funding structure and target market.
APITW doesn’t dictate what to build. It provides a map of the housing landscape for this population.
This isn’t a theoretical market. The 2025 update of A Place in the World features 20 properties designed to serve autistic adults and others with intellectual/developmental disabilities. This list touches on notable attributes:
Whatever your development model or experience, APITW offers multiple cases resembling something you could have built—or might want to build next.
Current supply doesn’t match burgeoning demand. APITW housing market analyses (HMA) survey data show strong preference for walkable, mixed-use, neuro-inclusive communities. But most inventory still reflects outdated institutional design and inaccurate assumptions about levels of dependence. That’s a gap—and an opportunity.
Families are joining forces. Some are pooling land, seed capital and/or operating partnerships. Public and philanthropic funders are looking for inclusive, community-integrated projects with proximity to healthcare facilities. And stable, long-term tenancy with wraparound supports makes this market segment more viable.
If you’re already building housing that pairs bricks and mortar with services, you’re not starting from scratch. You’re standing at the edge of a well-defined need with a toolkit already in hand.
A Place in the World won’t tell you what to build. But it will help you plan smarter, partner better and move faster—whether you’re working at the neighborhood scale or developing a multiphase project.
Start with property “Snapshots” under APITW’s Housing Market Guide to learn from other developers. Check out findings from the collection of APITW HMAs and consider one for your community. Watch the APITW video series. Then find your own entree into a market that’s been waiting for your attention!
By Denise D. Resnik, Founder & President/CEO
A unique energy flows from anticipation. It shows up in the buildup to something meaningful—a long-awaited trip, a birthday celebration, a family gathering or the start of something new.
Our family felt it this month as we planned a multigenerational trip to Disneyland, where we celebrated several important milestones: Matt’s 34th birthday, the grandkids’ birthdays (Hannah, 7, and Morgan, 4) and their parents’ 10-year anniversary. The anticipation alone brought palpable joy, with Matt revisiting favorite Disney Sing-Along videos on his iPad; the grandkids counting down the days and the inches (making sure Morgan was tall enough to join on most rides); the family swapping notes on travel plans, healthy snacks and ride strategies (I don’t do roller coasters!).
While the experience was filled with laughter, warm weather, tender moments and thrills both expected and unexpected, it also reminded me how much we expect of people as they navigate large systems—especially when those systems are loud, crowded and complex.
Even the most magical places require preparation, flexibility and trust. Perhaps that’s what anticipation actually offers us: a way to prepare—not just for the highlights but for the moments in between. Such moments reminded me that community, inclusion and joy don’t just exist at the peak of the roller coaster. They also live in the quiet pauses. The unexpected detours. The recovery when plans shift.
At First Place AZ, we often ponder what it means to anticipate. We build communities that anticipate needs and support growth while recognizing that success doesn’t always produce a thrill. It can be one’s own apartment. A first job. A reassuring routine. A good night’s sleep. A moment of calm in a loud world.
Anticipation isn’t just about looking ahead. It’s preparing and building the physical, emotional and relational infrastructure that embraces both the thrill of big ideas and the steadiness of thoughtful planning and design.
That’s our focus as we prepare for the 14th First Place Global Symposium this October. We’re planning conversations about community, housing, employment, leadership and systems that work—not just when everything’s going smoothly but also when life gets complicated.
We’ll be joined by people (like you!) from public, private and philanthropic sectors spanning generations of experience and wisdom. Leaders motivated by big ideas. Families navigating real-world challenges. Employers poised to innovate. Researchers turning sound data into positive, sustainable outcomes. And always keeping those we serve—individuals with autism and/or intellectual/developmental disabilities—at the center of the story. Those whose lives, contributions and aspirations move us toward action.
This is your invitation to imagine with us what’s possible.
Join us October 15–17 in Phoenix—or online—as we explore the myriad ways we build confidence, connection and community.
