Creating Quality of Life for Adults on the Autism Spectrum

Book excerpt: Creating Quality of Life for Adults on the Autism Spectrum: The Story of Bittersweet Farms provides an overview of the first farmstead community for adults with autism established in North America. The book also provides a detailed description and evaluation of the intervention model used to promote quality of life for the adults with autism who live as residents at Bittersweet Farms. Through its aim to provide a better understanding of adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the text enables a deeper appreciation of the Bittersweet Farms model, which meets the residential and therapeutic needs of this population that are not often well understood. The book discusses the apprenticeship model used at Bittersweet Farms along with examples of how residents benefit from this approach. The text expands upon its approach through the inclusion of specific guidelines that can be adopted for improved communication and social interaction, managing troublesome behaviors, calming anxieties, and establishing daily routines. These guidelines reflect a positive approach to intervention and are consistent with the quality-of-life emphasis inherent in the Bittersweet model. This book will serve as a seminal work for professionals and paraprofessionals working with people with ASD. It will further be of interest to parents and relatives of people with ASD along with researchers and policymakers concerned about the ASD adult population, and those interested in services for people with ASD.