Autism Advisory Group


Community Living

Living in the community involves having access to suitable housing, healthcare, and reliable transportation, which are critical for enabling independence and full participation. Below are a few transportation and housing resources to get you started.

Transportation

Maryland Department of Transportation 

  • Mobility/Paratransit -Mobility is a specialized transit service available to people, who because of a disability are functionally unable to get to a bus stop, wait unassisted at a stop or station or board or ride a bus or train by themselves. 

  • Call-A-Ride - The MTA Call-a-Ride Service is available to MTA-certified Mobility customers who meet the eligibility requirements.

  • WMATA MetroAccess (Montgomery County, Prince Georges County, DC) - MetroAccess is a shared-ride, door-to-door, paratransit service for eligible customers whose disability prevents them from using bus or rail. 

Housing

  • Autism Housing Network (AHN) - A project of the Madison House Autism Foundation, the AHN aims to provide a central hub of housing information, developer tools, and resources in order to build more neuro-inclusive communities.

Healthcare

  • Waiver programs - Maryland receives funding from the Federal government to run Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver programs.  These programs offer services within the community as an alternative to receiving them in an institution.  

    • Autism Waiver - The Autism Waiver (AW) is designed to provide community-based, long-term, person-centered therapeutic services and support to eligible children and youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to enable home and community living as an alternative to institutional care.  

    • Model Waiver - The Model Waiver, a program started in Maryland in 1985, allows medically fragile individuals who would otherwise be hospitalized and are certified as needing either hospital or nursing facility level of care to receive medically necessary and appropriate services in the community.  

    • DDA Medicaid Waivers - The Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) in Maryland runs three special Medicaid programs. To be eligible, applicants must meet specific technical, medical, and financial criteria initially and on an ongoing basis.