Residential & Supported Living Episodes

Where will my profoundly autistic adult child live when school ends and nothing nearby fits? Host Mike Carr speaks with Debra Caudy, founder of 29 Acres, an intentional community just north of Dallas-Fort Worth where about a third of clients have high support needs. They talk about mixing support levels, Texas waiver funding, staffing and training, and giving a nonverbal adult real choices. Questions this episode answers Where will my profoundly autistic adult child live? How to find residenti...

Most families don’t go straight from home to residential care and they shouldn’t. In Part 2 of this conversation, Mike Carr sits down with Nathan Bryant, Executive Director of High Point Village, to break down one of the most important (and often misunderstood) steps in autism planning: the transition from home to independent living. The key insight? Respite is not just support for families, it’s the foundation for long-term success. Nathan shares how structured respite experiences help indiv...

What happens after age 22 for individuals with autism? In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr speaks with Nathan Bryant, Executive Director of High Point Village in Lubbock, Texas. Nathan shares his unique journey from law school to ministry to leading a nonprofit serving adults with autism and how his personal experience as a father shaped his approach to care. Together, they explore what effective adult services can look like, especially for individuals with higher or profound support ne...

What happens after autism services end? In this powerful Autism Labs episode, Mike Carr sits down with Jon Hockenyos economist, policy expert and father of a 23-year-old son with profound autism for a candid, dad-to-dad conversation about life after the school system. Together, they explore the reality families face when structured support disappears. From early experiences of being removed from programs due to behavior, to navigating a broken adult services system with decades-long waitlists...

Finding the Right Residential Program for Profound Autism: What Really Matters After more than two decades of searching for the right residential environment for his profoundly autistic son, Mike Carr shares a deeply honest look at what families must consider when evaluating long-term care options. In this episode, Mike explores the limits of AI-driven research after testing multiple platforms and receiving completely inconsistent recommendations. More importantly, he walks through real-life ...

What happens to your child with autism when you’re no longer there to care for them? It’s one of the most difficult and most important questions parents face. In this episode, Mike Carr shares his personal journey as the father of a 36-year-old son with profound autism. From early fears to real-world planning, this episode lays the foundation for what families need to know about lifelong care. You’ll learn: Why planning not worrying is the key to protecting your child’s futureThe 5 essential ...

What actually makes an autism program safe, sustainable and trustworthy? In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr speaks with Johnna Oppermann, a leading expert in residential and day programs for individuals with profound autism. Drawing on decades of experience, Johnna explains why culture, not facilities, funding or programming, is the foundation of effective autism care. For parents navigating the transition to adulthood, this conversation addresses one of the biggest fears: What happens...

What happens when a profoundly autistic child becomes an adult and the services their family needs aren't readily available? In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr continues his conversation with Joel Wood, a father navigating the complex process of developing long-term support for his autistic son. Joel and Mike discuss the realities of finding qualified and committed caregivers, creating residential programs, building relationships with other families, and developing support systems that wo...

What happens when a profoundly autistic young adult reaches the end of high school? For Joel Wood and his wife Martha, that question has become increasingly urgent as their 20-year-old son William approaches adulthood. William has autism and apraxia and is largely non-speaking. After years of limited communication, his family's work with spelling revealed abilities and thoughts that challenged some of their previous assumptions about what he could understand and accomplish. In this episode of...

Autism housing is one of the most complex and emotional decisions families face, especially when supporting individuals with high or profound support needs. In this continuation episode, Mike Carr and Ann Hart (former President of the Autism Society of Texas) explore real-world housing options for autistic adults, including State Supported Living Centers (SSLCs), group homes, ICFs and waiver-based systems. Rather than offering a one-size-fits-all solution, this conversation focuses on how parent...

For families supporting an autistic child with significant support needs, planning for adulthood can bring difficult questions: Where will they live? What services will they need? How will those services be funded? And what happens when the school system ends? In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr speaks with Ann Hart, a longtime autism advocate, past president of the Autism Society of Texas and mother of a 40-year-old son with severe autism. Ann brings decades of experience volunteering wit...

For parents and caregivers of profoundly autistic adults, one of the hardest questions is often: Who will provide lifelong care when we can no longer do it ourselves? In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr explores what families should look for when evaluating residential care for adults with profound autism and complex support needs. Drawing from his experience as a parent to a profoundly autistic adult and his work with J13, Mike examines residential programs through a family-centered lens....

What happens when parents can no longer care for their profoundly autistic adult child? For families supporting autistic adults with significant support needs, planning for residential care can be one of the most difficult parts of the transition to adulthood. In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr shares his family's firsthand experience searching for long-term residential options for his 35-year-old son, who has severe autism, is nonverbal and has multiple complex support needs. Mike exa...

Finding residential housing for a profoundly autistic adult can be one of the most difficult decisions a family faces. In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr shares five practical lessons for parents and caregivers who are researching residential programs, respite care and long-term adult services for autistic adults with complex support needs. Drawing from his family's experience raising a profoundly autistic adult son and from visiting residential programs, Mike explains why families should...