NARPAA Goals
- Promote best practices and quality standards through training
- Open access to underserved populations
- Exchange information members and partners to promote efficiency and effectiveness
- Promote effective public policy relating to the needs of adults with autism.
- Funding and Services
- Funding for adult services is individualized and commensurate with the needs of the person. Service providers have specialized training and recognize that adults with autism are life long learners.
- Individual Rights and Responsibilities
- Adults with autism are offered choices that are meaningful and clear. Service providers teach and support creative, individualized choice-making.
- Individualized Service Planning
- Service providers facilitate a variety of opportunities and experiences for the adult with autism, enabling the person to make informed choices in the development of their service/support plan.
- Community Access and Support
- Service providers teach and support community living skills in the areas of mobility and safety.
- Service providers accompany the adult with autism, as needed, to assure safe access to all areas of the community.
- Residential Options
- Residential options are tailored to the unique communication, behavioral, socialization, and sensory needs of the person. The adult with autism may require a 1:1 ratio to promote safety and an opportunity for personal development.
-
Effective, long-term behavioral supports
- Service providers will effectively analyze the person’s
challenging
behavior to determine the function of the behavior prior to the
development of a
behavior support plan. Service providers will develop and implement
positive behavioral
procedures based on the functional analysis of the person’s
behavior.
- Service providers will emphasize the prevention of behavior
problems through approaches such as teaching functional skills that
replace
negative behaviors, and altering the person’s environment as
needed to promote
positive behaviors. The application of consequences that produce
physical
discomfort or pain; humiliation; or that compromise the
individual’s dignity
are not acceptable.
- Employment
- Service providers will understand the unique learning style of the adult with autism and will develop individualized vocational plans.
- The service provider will work with community employers to develop job accommodations for the adult with autism.
- Participants will become aware of autism-specific residential providers in the United States.
- Participants will gain knowledge of standards for residential treatment.
- Participants will be given evidence of successful implementation of residential standards.
- Participants will be given the opportunity to give feedback to the providers.
- Participants will assist NARPAA to identify action steps for appropriate adult services, especially residential.