The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

Supports for persons with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) enhance accessibility and community membership opportunities for adults and adolescents with autism in the transition to adulthood. Education, employment, residential, social and recreational opportunities; identification from research of successful techniques to apply to service provision, including treatment and intervention research; and lifelong planning are all means to achieve full inclusion and participation.

Standards for ASD services and supports present a roadmap for successful outcomes in the lives of persons with autism and their families by encouraging organizational values that focus on individualized, person-centered services for persons to achieve full inclusion and participation as desired in their communities. Services involve families, networks of resources, and education and support communities for adolescents transitioning to adulthood and adult persons with ASD.

The CARF standards in this section focus on planning for transition from school and the development of lifelong supports as needed for persons with ASD, with the outcomes of employment, further education, community living and life planning. It is hoped the standards, within the CARF values of continuous quality improvement, will provide a blueprint for community providers, local resources, and state, provincial and federal government systems to reach and plan solutions for serving persons with ASD.

Some of the quality results (outcomes) desired by the different stakeholders of ASD services may include:

-        Creating and supporting lifelong self-advocacy skills.

-        Developing lifelong supports and community resources for persons and families.

-        Enhancing quality of life by increasing social contacts and support communities.

-        Encouraging service provider capacity building by networking with governmental, educational, business/employer and other community resources.

-        Recognizing and sharing reliable evidence-based knowledge, innovations, interventions and therapies with proven, research-based and peer-reviewed track records of getting results.

-        Building linkages within segments of school systems and across school systems to facilitate successful transitions between placements.

-        Building early linkages for the transition from school to successful employment and community living supports through all life transitions.

-        Providing outcomes information to schools to enhance school curriculums and employment transition planning.

-        Individualized, comprehensive life planning that is continually transferred to other service providers to ensure continuity of service planning and supports.

Persons served moving toward:

–        Optimal use of natural supports.

–        A social supports network.

–        Self-help.

–        Greater self-sufficiency.

–        Greater ability to make appropriate choices.

–        Greater control of their lives.

–        Increased participation in the community.

–        Employment and/or continued education.