Housing Models

Much of the material on this page was developed for the 2016 MA Housing Think Tank, a joint effort of Autism Housing Pathways, The Arc of Massachusetts, and Advocates for Autism of Massachusetts. Additional support for the think tank was provided by Advocates, HMEA, and the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council. Participants included more than 50 autistic individuals, family members, service providers, policy makers, finance professionals, developers, and designers.

The think tank process

• At a glance:
  • Think tank organizers crowd sourced consensus housing principles
  • Videos of housing models were solicited and compared by organizers to the principles.
  • A list of housing models compatible with the principles was developed.
  • Think tank participants evaluated the models and identified a subset of models that could collectively meet the needs of the broadest range of people. They also identified models that could serve those with highly specialized needs.

The think tank process

Preparation for the think tank included crowd sourcing a list of consensus housing principles via a Facebook group. Additionally, videos of housing models were solicited via the Facebook group. Those the think tank planning committee deemed consistent with the consensus principles were used to generate a list of twelve housing models.

During the think tank, breakout groups of participants were presented with profiles of twelve hypothetical autistic residents, and asked to identify two housing models they felt would be appropriate for each resident. Each hypothetical resident was considered by two breakout groups. Results were tabulated, resulting in a short list of models that could collectively meet the needs of the vast majority of hypothetical residents, as well as models that could meet the needs of someone with a complex medical/behavioral profile.

Descriptions of housing models, including video summaries, can be found by following these links:

• Models selected by the think tank

• Other models considered during the think tank

• Models considered by Autism Housing Pathways since the think tank

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