Families are being forced to give up their children to group homes and treatment centers over 12 hours from their homes ... or out of the state of California entirely.
There are very few specialized facilities in the country that meet the unique needs of individuals with autism and co-occurring mental health conditions, especially in crisis situations.
Experts and advocates have bemoaned glaring gaps in services to meet the mental health needs of autistic youth, despite the growing diagnosis of autism.
Some researchers have estimated that upward of 90% of autistic youth have overlapping conditions like anxiety, depression or ADHD, many having suffered alarming levels of trauma.
[
Collection
]
[
|
...
]