Figuring out what’s best for his son, Andrew, has never been easy for Michael Meyer.
“I think it’s very difficult for a parent of an autistic child,” said Meyer. "Many nights I would just wake up and wring my hands, just worrying and saying – what’s going to happen to him?”.
I think it's very difficult for the parent of an autistic child. Many nights I would just wake up and wring my hands, just worrying and saying - 'what's going to happen to him?'.
It's a worry that grew more pronounced as Andrew approached his twenty-second birthday and ‘aged out’ of the public school system into an uncertain adulthood.
“You’re options are limited," said Meyer.
Andrew now lives in a group home and – three years ago – became one of the first people to enroll in a day program in Danvers geared specifically to adults with autism.
"If we look at what we've done with this service - we started out with maybe four individuals here - and we've grown. We're getting to almost full," explained Nancy Marticio, director of day services for Bridgewell. "We have parents all the time that need a place for their son or daughter."
There’s an emphasis on teaching life skills. And - with a conservative estimate of about four hundred young people with autism “aging out” of the school system each year in Massachusetts - plans to expand.
“But there’s a very large population of folks with autism who are not appropriate for day-habilitation, but don’t have anywhere to go during the day," said Cathy Boyle who runs a nonprofit called Autism Housing Pathways. "A lot of them are sitting home watching TV.”
"There's a very large population of folks with autism who are not appropriate for day-habilitation, but don't have anywhere to go during the day. A lot of them are sitting home watching TV."
Boyle says says many adults with autism can live independently with support and a job.
"Employers have to start to embrace this, because frequently what will happen is you’ll find somebody who gets a job and there is a manager who is very understanding and accommodates the person, but when that manager leaves there’s a new manager who doesn’t want to be bothered," said Boyle.
Boyle says helping adults with autism move toward independence benefits everyone. Not every adult with autism needs an intensive program like this one or will qualify for the funding that covers the 60-thousand-dollars a year tuition.
But, as he walks hand in hand with his son, along the corridor of at Bridgewell, Michael Meyer says this is one decision he does not second guess.
"Andrew's happy. He likes what he's doing, he likes where he is," said Meyer. "What more can you ask for than if your kid's happy?".
