Click here for a Fact sheet from the CDC on Autism in Teenagers and Adults

Glossary of Terms
This glossary explains the most common terms you’ll hear when planning services, supports, and a secure future for adults with profound autism. Programs, rules, and names vary by state, but these definitions give you the big picture.

Services & Supports

Day Habilitation (DayHab)
Structured daytime activities that build life skills, promote community participation, and provide supervision. Often funded through Medicaid waivers.

Adult Day Services / Day Programs
A broad term for supervised programs that offer social, recreational, and skill-building activities during the day.

Community Habilitation (Comm Hab)
Support delivered in the community or at home to teach and maintain skills for daily living.

Residential Services
Group homes, supervised apartments, or other staffed living arrangements for adults who cannot live alone safely.

Shared Living
A residential option where an adult with a disability lives in the home of a trained caregiver or host family. The caregiver provides daily support, supervision, and inclusion in family and community life. Shared living can be a long-term arrangement and is often funded through Medicaid waivers. In some states, it’s called Adult Foster Care or Host Home.

Supported Living
Housing where the person lives in their own home or apartment but receives regular support from staff.

Respite Care
Short-term relief for primary caregivers, either in-home or at a specialized facility.

In-Home Support Services
Help with personal care, hygiene, meal preparation, and daily activities provided in the home.

Vocational Rehabilitation
State-run programs that prepare and support people with disabilities for work.

Sheltered Workshop
A structured, supportive work environment for people who need ongoing assistance. Availability varies by state.

Healthcare & Therapy

Behavioral Supports
Services from a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) or behavior specialist to address challenging behavior and teach new skills.

Occupational Therapy (OT)
Therapy to improve daily living skills, sensory processing, and fine motor abilities.

Speech-Language Pathology (SLP)
Communication support, which may include AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) devices or systems.

Adult Day Health
Day programs that also provide nursing or medical oversight for people with significant health needs.

Legal & Future Planning

Guardianship
A court process giving a person legal authority to make decisions for an adult who cannot do so independently.

Conservatorship
Similar to guardianship; term used in some states.

Supported Decision-Making
An alternative to full guardianship where the adult makes their own decisions with help from trusted supporters.

Power of Attorney (POA)
Legal authority to act on someone’s behalf for finances, healthcare, or both.

Special Needs Trust
A legal arrangement to manage assets for a person with a disability without affecting their eligibility for government benefits.

ABLE Account
A tax-advantaged savings account for people with disabilities that can be used for qualified expenses without jeopardizing benefits.

Future Planning
Coordinating housing, services, finances, and guardianship for when parents or primary caregivers are no longer able to provide care.

Benefits & Funding

Medicaid Waiver
State programs that fund long-term services (like DayHab, respite, and residential care) not typically covered by standard Medicaid.

SSI (Supplemental Security Income)
A federal benefit providing monthly income to people with disabilities who have limited income and resources.

SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance)
Monthly income for people with disabilities who have a work history or whose parents qualify through their own work record.

State Developmental Disabilities Agency
The state office responsible for providing or coordinating services for people with developmental disabilities.

Autism Adulthood: Insights and Creative Strategies for a Fulfilling Life―Second Edition Paperback – April 3, 2018

by Susan Senator (Author)

One of the biggest fears of parents with children with autism is their looming adulthood and all that it entails. In this Second Edition of her lauded book Autism Adulthood, Susan Senator further tackles the challenges of adult life on the autism spectrum on the more severe end of the spectrum – those who cannot communicate for themselves, honestly discussing the complex decisions that await all parents and caregivers. To help parents find the guidance they need to provide fruitful lives for their autistic loved ones’ and the support they themselves need, Senator shares her own family’s personal story about her son, Nat, and his struggles and triumphs as an adult with severe autism.

Autism Adulthood features interviews with parents, caregivers, researchers, and professionals. Each vignette reveals firsthand a family’s needs and goals—the circumstances, thought processes, and unique solutions. Sharing the wisdom that emerges from parents’ and self-advocates’ experiences, Senator adds her own observations and conclusions based on her long-term familiarity and understanding of autism. Told in Senator’s trademark warm, approachable style, Autism Adulthood, Second Edition paints a vivid and thought-provoking picture of many people grappling with grown-up, real-life autism. Senator’s is the only book of its kind, as real families share their stories and their creative solutions.