Our flexible, individualized programs for adolescents and adults with autism are designed to meet the needs of each person, whether they’re pursuing goals around home, school, work, or the community. We encourage and actively support growth, positive individual choices, and meaningful relationships.
Availability: Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, and Lancaster Counties in Pennsylvania
The Adult Community Autism Program (ACAP) offers flexible services and supports to adults with an Autism Spectrum Disorder to assist them to develop skills to reach their goals and participate meaningfully in their community.
Whether adults have complex needs in many area of their life or they only need a few supports, ACAP’s services can be tailored to each person’s needs. Services are comprehensive and individualized, incorporating health, behavioral, vocational, education, recreational, and family considerations. Most importantly, each person’s service plan is developed based on his or her strengths, capabilities, dreams, and aspirations.
Specific services and supports may include:
Questions? Call Keystone Autism Services at 717-220-1465, Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4 pm, to speak to someone directly.
Availability: Connecticut
Our Autism Services in Connecticut provide a person-directed approach to supporting adults over 18 with Autism Spectrum Disorder. We work with each person and their family to develop a plan to increase the person’s ability to live independently and participate in the community. Adults may receive community mentoring, life skills coaching, behavior management, or a combination based on their goals.
Availability: Delaware, Pennsylvania
Designed to increase independence and inclusion in family and community life, Behavior Support Services focus on developing a person’s adaptive behaviors and functional skills.
Under supervision of a licensed psychologist, our professionals work with each person to develop a behavioral support plan based on the person’s strengths, challenges, and goals. On-going training is provided for each person, their family, and the staff supporting them.
Availability: New Jersey
For people living at home, Community-Based Services offers support to become active members of the community. Through Community Supports, each person can pursue volunteer opportunities and many other roles within the community. In-Home Supports offers assistance in learning daily living skills, such as food preparation, grocery shopping, and laundry.
Presentations focus on understanding and communicating effectively with adults with autism, and can be tailored to the needs of audiences as varied as museums, libraries, amusement parks, healthcare settings, first responders, or law enforcement.
If you are interested in education or training related to autism spectrum disorders, please contact the Keystone Autism Services Education Director at 717-220-1465.
Availability: Lehigh County Pennsylvania
The Keystone Autism Services Vocational Initiative (KASVI) is an innovative approach to supporting young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their families. Available to adolescents and adults age 12–35 in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, KASVI is designed specifically to meet the needs of young adults as they transition from high school to pursue employment, higher education, and increased independence in their home and community.
KASVI also offers support for family members to develop ongoing natural and community supports for their son or daughter.
Participants in KASVI will plan, prepare for, and achieve employment and/or post-secondary education while increasing their independence as part of an inclusive, productive, and meaningful everyday life.
KASVI uses elements of the LifeCourse Framework (Missouri Family to Family Life Course Network) to develop a person directed approach unique to each individual. Each person and their family develop a vision and plan for a full life as they transition from entitlement-based services received in high school to the eligibility-based services of adulthood.
KASVI offers comprehensive services to address the needs of young adults as they transition into successful employment and gain independence in their home and communities, including:
Career planning
Participants receive support to identify a career direction through vocational assessment; to develop a plan for achieving competitive, integrated employment and/or further education; to acquire, improve, and retain vocational skills and other adaptive skills in preparation for employment and/or post-secondary education.
Job finding
We provide assistance in developing or securing competitive, integrated employment that fits the participant’s vocational goals and the employer’s needs.
Supported Employment
We provide assistance to participants who need ongoing support to maintain competitive, integrated employment.
In-home and community support
Participants receive support to acquire, improve, or retain skills for living independently in their home and community.
Availability: Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania
While living in licensed or unlicensed provider-owned or rented homes, adults with autism receive support to live independently in the community. The type and amount of services are determined by each person’s needs and can range from a few hours a week to 24 hours a day. Each person works with their family, staff, and other people of their choosing to develop a plan based on their goals, including employment and participation in the community.
Howie used to work for an employer that required him to have full support from a Community Support Professional (CSP), but he and his support staff knew that he didn’t need that much oversight. He decided to leave his old job and started a new, customized job with natural supports. “I move boxes. I clock in and watch my time,” he says. “I don’t need CSPs to help me at work.”
