Gittis Clinic Secures Residences for Young Adults with Autism
This past Fall, David Drachler 3L, a student in the Small Business Clinic of the Gittis Program for Clinical Studies at the Law School, worked on a project that set up a unique residential model for adults with autism. Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life, the result of a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain that has been estimated to occur in 1 in 500 individuals. Only in the last few decades has autism been more accurately diagnosed in children. Today, with appropriate services, training, and information, most families are able to support their son or daughter at home. Many of these children have been raised outside of institutions and are now of age to live semi-independently. But a residential model has been hard to find, until now. Abler LLC was established in Pennsylvania by the parents of two adult children with autism for the purpose of acquiring and managing a piece of real estate that will become the home for their children to live semi-independently. Under the supervision of Small Business Clinic Director Dina Schlossberg, Drachler drafted the operating agreement for the LLC, reviewed the bank loan documents for Abler’s acquisition of the house, and attended the closing. He didn’t have a background in real estate before undertaking the project, which prompted Schlossberg to give him the opportunity to learn quickly in a hands-on setting. “For me it was my ideal of what clinical work would be,” says Drachler. “A benefit is that I helped people accomplish what they wanted to accomplish.” A similar
project undertaken by the Small Business Clinic involved Autism Living
and Working (ALAW), a non-profit, tax-exempt advocacy organization founded
in 1998 with a mission to help adults with autism form and sustain households,
hold jobs and contribute to community life, through individual support
and accommodations. With the funding that ALAW has received they would
like to support the future development of independent households, such
as that set up by Abler LLC. ALAW mediates between parties interested
in setting up an LLC such as Abler, and as a network for parents of autistic
children. The Small Business Clinic is helping ALAW establish policies
and procedures that will allow them to pursue grant and loan activity. |
||||
| Previous Page | Next Page | |||
