AutismVotes.org
Thanks in large part to the Autism Votes
initiative, there has been a near domino-effect of states pushing for autism
insurance reform. Missouri, California, Oregon and Virginia are the most recent
states that have made headlines in the past few weeks related to this issue.
In light of the current legislative efforts to have autism-related services
covered by insurance, many parents and families are continuing to seek out what
states are the most "autism friendly."
Nearly four years ago, our site published a list that included what we felt at
the time, was the top states to live in for autism support and
services. The list was compiled from extensive research efforts, but has
since become outdated.
As we have found over the years, the problem with rating states is that
circumstances are often very fluid and things can change very quickly. Additionally, services can be vastly different from county-to-county or city-to-city. As such,
any "top" lists are subject to flaws.
Then there is the issue of subjectivity. What was found is that two families residing in the same state can have two vastly different
experiences. As a result, one may tell you the state is terrific, while
the other will say how horrible it is.
If anyone is looking to relocate to a state that will be best suited for your
child with autism, it is suggested that you do extensive research and not
rely solely upon an article, news report or limited information. Talk to
parents, educators, and caregivers who reside in the state and get your hands on
as much information as you can.
Probably the most beneficial resource about individual states and how they
relate to autism can be found on the Easter Seals website. They have a
tremendous amount of information compiled on each state that will be extremely
beneficial to potential and existing residents who are in need of autism
services.
The Easter Seals list can be an excellent start to your research, but like anything else,
should not be solely relied upon when you make a decision on where to live.
Hopefully, in the near future, we will see sweeping federal legislative changes
that address autism so everyone, regardless of where they live, will be on a
level playing field. Until then, be sure to fully equip yourself with knowledge and information to give your child the best future possible.
Click Here to View All the State Profiles for Autism Resources and Services
I currently live in Florida, my daughter is 21, has autism and epilepsy, severely mentally retarded now. She has been on medwaiver for over 10 years, turned 21 in June and was not transitioned to adult services due to budget/spending freeze…so now she has no services and I am struggling to pay for care that allows me to work my 40 hours per week. WE will be moving but I am looking for where. I am an ARNP in psychiatry, have over 30 years nursing experience and do not believe I will not have difficulty finding a job but finding care for my daughter so I can continue to earn a living (food, clothing and shelter) is a tremendous challenge. I would love to have any feedback, would rather not live too far north as she also has difficulty with cold intolerance. Thanks for any feedback/input!
I have a five-year-old son with autism, we live in Pittsburgh PA. Pittsburgh has the best autism services I have found in the US. Also, Pittsburgh has major availability for health care professionals.It is cold here for a few months but in my opinion the move would be beneficial for you and your daughter.
I love the map, but what do the colors mean? Where’s the key?
We also live in the Pittsburgh area and it really does have the best autism services and programs available.
Can anyone comment on the autism services (especially those provided by public schools) in Austin Texas or Little Rock, AK? We are contemplating a move. Thanks!
Was thinking to moving to pittsburgh….from WV. What school districts would you suggest?
I heard New Jersey is one of the Top 10 states. Is this true?
We relocated to Sacramento, CA from the Midwest in 2004 in order to get our (then 8 year old) daughter autism services. The state/city in the Midwest where we lived didn’t even know how to spell ‘autism’. Prior to relocating to Sacramento we did a lot of research and decided on Sacramento (besides the autism services it fit well with other family needs at the time).
Our daughter, now 16, has excellent services…an in-home ABA program about 30 hrs a week (an agency with aids work with our daughter in-home), 2.5 hours a day in a very good special needs class with a personal one-on-one aid at an excellent public high school, about 24 hours a quarter of respite, bi-weekly speech therapy, and ‘pull-up’ supplies.
Please note that we only got all this by hiring an advocate who KNOWS the system, regs., laws, and is an awesome hard core bulldog negotiator that won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. We basically pay her about $1,200 year for her services….but we probably get around $100K in services annually.
Every quarter IEP meeting has been a challenge since we moved here. The school district and state (how her program is funded) are well trained on how to reject, slash, cut, & eliminate services. So far we (us & our advocate, lots of prayers) have been successful in obtaining and maintaining a premium autism program for our daughter. However, each quarter it becomes more and more difficult to maintain the services—big battles; especially now with CA’s pitiful economy. We are again getting very bad vibes about an upcoming Jan 2013 IEP meeting.
We know of MANY families with an autistic child who live in the same school district and metro area who hardly have any services to speak of. One MUST know how to navigate the SYSTEM, and be VERY good at doing so. We have been blessed.
How may i learn more about the map? Colors? Legend? Date? thanks
The link to the key for the map doesn’t work. It comes up saying the page cannot be found.
That link was taken down by AutismVotes.org, which is part of Autism Speaks. The old info has been consolidated into the following page:
http://www.autismspeaks.org/advocacy/states
To find out what the colors mean, scroll down on that page.
Sorry for the confusion. This is precisely the reason why I am not a big fan of linking out to third-party sites for resources.
Iam mother of four single looking in Raleigh NC to relocating any suggestions.