Living with one of multiple disabilities is such a broad topic that the need for individualized housing plans and multiple housing options is essential. One of the most popular housing outcomes discussed for adults with disabilities is Independent Living. Independent Living involves much more than just living on your own. While we will discuss this option, there are many other options and many other resources describing these options. We hope to compile these housing options and link you to sites that provide you with a thorough understanding of them, so that you can have educated discussions with your loved ones and make informed decisions regarding where they will live after school age and into adulthood. Additionally, visit our “Disability Law on Housing” page to understand how the law describes housing for individuals with disabilities.

First, read this article titled “Housing Options for Adults with Special Needs” from Special Needs Answers, as it will be helpful in understanding the rest of this page. As the title suggests, it provides several housing options and a brief description for each. We included some of the housing options to add links to additional information and local resources in our headers below.

Living with Parents or Other Family Members

This option is not ideal based on several reasons mentioned in the article on the Housing Options homepage. Living with ...

Independent Living (IL)

To avoid redundancy, we would like to direct you to the Center for Parent Information & Resources’ page on Independent Living, ...

Group Homes/Community Living

There is no one unified definition of what group homes are. As the article on the previous page mentions, they ...

Assisted Living

This is yet another type of housing that is not well defined due to often being used interchangeably with group ...

Lifesharing

The premise behind lifesharing is unique, involving individuals staying with host families who have agreed to open their home to ...

Housing Law

Housing laws exist at the Federal level and are enforced by both the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) ...