A collaborative effort to improve the outcomes for youth with autism spectrum disorder transitioning to adulthood has been awarded a total of $1 million over the next three years from the Cleveland Foundation. The grant will help to support the work of a three-year pilot in which The MetroHealth System, Autism Speaks and Milestones Autism Resources will partner to build a model of coordinated medical, behavioral and social transition planning that can be scaled and replicated in other locations, within Ohio and beyond. "Transition services and supports are critical for young people with ASD to be successful and participate to the fullest extent possible in the broader community. Transition planning should start early." The first seed for the collaboration was planted when Autism Speaks reached out to the Cleveland Foundation in the spring of 2021 to talk about the looming service crisis precipitated by the unprecedented number of adolescents with ASD leaving high school and flooding the adult disability system. The Cleveland Foundation recommended the national autism organization collaborate with MetroHealth to leverage their complementary strengths to build an autism transition model focused on planning for adulthood.
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