In 2009, a group of families, professionals and civic leaders came together and founded Sweetwater Spectrum. As parents of children with autism, we have collaborated with professionals and community leaders to meet an extraordinary need: Appropriate, high-quality housing choices in the community for adults with autism.   

Our pilot community is being developed in Sonoma, California and can be replicated anywhere.

Our goal is to build for adults with autism an environment typically not available to them—a place where they have a sense of community and belonging. Sweetwater Spectrum will maximize residents’ individual development and independence so they can live with both purpose and dignity with access to a variety of opportunities.

This residential community is a completely new model. We have toured the country and selected the best elements of existing residential options to design a compassionate, pragmatic and ambitious community with choices for adults with autism. What we are creating on a small scale is the first but absolutely critical step in realizing a concept that can be reproduced in communities around California and the U.S.