Where Independence Begins.
Not a halfway house. Not a group home. Not a placement. A structured, autistic-designed living environment that teaches the skills required for independent adulthood — and then opens the door to everything waiting on the other side.
Traditional transitional housing fails autistic adults not because the people inside are broken — but because the systems were designed for someone else. Incompatible sensory environments. No executive function scaffolding. Neurotypical social scripts as house rules. AutHome flips the model.
We design the system first. Then we place people into the system. Not the other way around. This is Temple Grandin’s philosophy applied to independent living.
Every skill in AutHome is taught in community. The Kitchen Basics module pairs residents together — one slightly further along, one just beginning. The curriculum is the relationship.
AutHome is the second step in a complete autistic life system — the bridge between supported living and independent adulthood.
Every resident is paired with a peer mentor — someone who completed the same modules, faced the same challenges, and came out the other side. Their lived experience is the curriculum. No textbook can replace it.
To carry the AutHome name, a residence must meet every one of these standards. No exceptions. No approximations.
Predictable lighting. Quiet zones. Low-stim bedrooms. High-stim creative spaces. Clear visual organization. Labeled storage. Color-coded systems. Every design decision made with sensory experience as the first consideration — not an afterthought.
Morning routine. Evening routine. Cleaning schedule. Cooking rotation. Shopping checklist. Weekly planning session. Predictability is not a limitation — it is the foundation on which confidence is built.
Every resident completes structured modules: Kitchen Basics, Laundry & Clothing Care, Budgeting & Bills, Transportation & Navigation, Conflict Resolution, Job Readiness. Skills taught in sequence. Mastered before the next begins.
Every resident is paired with a mentor (professional), a peer buddy (fellow resident further along the journey), and a skills coach (module-specific). No one navigates AutHome alone.
Four stages: Learn → Practice → Master → Lead. When a resident reaches Lead, they are ready for AutJobs employment, micro-business participation, or independent living. The pathway is clear. The milestones are real.
Residents who complete the AutHome pathway arrive at AutJobs not as applicants hoping for a chance — but as capable, confident adults who know their strengths, understand their needs, and are ready to build something of their own.
For many residents, this is the first time they have lived in a space that was designed for them. The quiet of an evening where nothing needs to be masked. Where ordinary is enough. Where home feels like home.
Every Sunday, residents gather for the weekly planning session. They build the week together — meals, chores, modules, free time. The structure is the support. The ownership is the point.
Every resident moves through the same four stages — at their own pace, with their own team, toward their own version of independence.
Arrival, intake, and orientation. Sensory preferences documented. Strengths mapped. Mentor, peer buddy, and skills coach assigned. First module begins. No pressure. No timeline. Just the beginning.
Modules completed in sequence. Daily routines established. Skills practiced in real conditions — real cooking, real budgeting, real conflict resolution. Mistakes are part of the design. Recovery is part of the curriculum.
Modules completed. Routines owned. Skills demonstrated consistently. Job readiness module begins. The AutJobs pathway opens. The resident begins to see what independence actually looks like — and believes it is possible for them.
The resident is ready. AutJobs employment, micro-business participation, or independent living — whichever path fits. And for those who choose it: becoming a peer buddy for the next resident who arrives at AutHome on their first day. The cycle continues. The community grows.
When a resident reaches Lead, the AutJobs team comes to them. Not as a job interview — as a conversation between people who already know each other. The bridge was always the point.
AutHome is in active development in Los Angeles. If you are an autistic adult looking for a pathway, a donor who wants to fund a residence, a city partner with available property, or a community organization that wants to bring AutHome to your city — we want to hear from you.