Aging Parents of Autistic Adults in Baton Rouge - Housing Crisis

Linda is 68. Her son Daniel is 38. He's lived with her since he aged out of the school system seventeen years ago. She's not asking for sympathy. She's asking for a plan. And the system, so far, hasn't had one. This is Issue 6 of NeuroPulse — and it's the one I've been building toward since we started this series. We've written about Marcus at the transition cliff. Jordan on the other side of it. Camille doing the math on whether to stay in direct support work. Rachel waiting 14 months for a diagnosis that opened no doors automatically. This issue is about what happens decades later, when the parents who filled every gap the system left are no longer able to fill them. The numbers behind Linda's situation are stark: → 87% of autistic young adults live with a parent at some point after high school — vs. 21% of their peers → 14,500+ people are on Louisiana's waiver registry waiting for disability services → In Baton Rouge, the average wait for a general housing voucher is 51 months. The waitlist is currently closed. → Disability-specific housing designed for neurodivergent adults doesn't exist in this city in any organized form The only autism-specific housing in Louisiana was built in Lake Charles — by families who organized it themselves because nothing else existed anywhere in the state. Baton Rouge is in the middle of a major development period. Decisions being made right now will shape this city for the next 50 years. The question of where neurodivergent adults will live is almost never part of that conversation. It needs to be. https://shorturl.at/cKPbR If you're an aging parent asking Linda's question — or if you know one — I want to hear from you. Your experience is the evidence that changes what gets built. The CAAN Provider Summit is September 30. The State of Neurodiversity Conference is October 1. If you work in housing, disability services, or urban planning in the Capital Area, we want you at the table. [email redacted] #AdvancingConnections #CAANBR #AutismAcceptance