Melmark, a human services provider organization, recently broke ground on a planned community for adults on a three-acre site in Tewksbury, Massachusetts.  With an expected cost of over $15 million and an estimated one-year timeline to completion, the pilot project will focus on providing evidence-based and instructional adult services for individuals with autism, intellectual disabilities, and developmental disabilities.

Melmark is partnering with Caveney Architectural Collaborative and Vantage Builders to design and build the facilities, including four residences housing 20 total adults, an instructional and vocational day program for 50+ individuals, a vocational coffee shop social enterprise, daily . . .

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Autism & I/DD

Intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) are a physical and/or cognitive impairments that occur before the age of 22. Autism spectrum disorder is generally considered a type of developmental disability that affects behaviour and communication. The autism and I/DD market provides supports and health care services to these populations. Over the past decade, there has been an increase in the changes and challenges affecting I/DD and autism markets—the move to managed care and value-based care, the shift away from residential treatment, the increasing emphasis on consumer-directed care, and new workforce challenges.


A review of 129 Pennsylvania programs for people with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) found that more than half had a “hidden waiting list,” according to a report by the Center for Disability Information (CDI). The report defined a hidden waiting list as existing when a person approved for waiver services by the state Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has been unable to start receiving services due to provider organization capacity and staffing limitations, or has been… Read