In 1979, Mecklenburg Autistic Group Homes, Inc. (MAGH) opened one of the nation’s first group homes specifically designed for people with autism. That first group home on Park Road was originally licensed as a group home for Developmentally Disabled Adults (DDA). In 1982, Park Road became the first group home in Mecklenburg County, and one of the first in North Carolina, to be certified as an Intermediate Care Facility for the Mentally Retarded (ICF/MR).
Since that time, the Park Road Group Home has been replaced and seven more group homes have been opened; the most recent of which is San ICF/MR group home for adults with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The TBI home was purchased from another provider in 2005. It was a four bedroom, ranch style home build in the early 1950’s. Construction of a new, replacement home designed specifically to meet the needs of those individuals was completed in the Fall of 2010.
In 1997, MAGH was approved to participate in the Community Alternatives Program (CAP), a Medicaid Waiver program that included both residential services and services for children and adults living at home. With the addition of these community based services, MAGH was renamed Autism Services of Mecklenburg County (ASMC).
In addition to group homes, ASMC has provided a home for adolescents, sponsored several Alternative Family Living (AFL) homes, and provided Respite Care. Between 2006 through 2010, ASMC operated a summer day camp for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and a licensed After School Program.
In 2007, ASMC opened a Licensed Day Activity Program for 60 adults, including consumers from another residential provider. In 2010, ASMC was approved as a vendor for community based assessment, supported employment, individual job coaching, and work adjustment by the N. C. Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services.
Despite our best efforts, the 2008 recession caused us to rethink some business practices. State and Federal funding has been cut repeatedly over the past few years. In 2010, we made the hard choice to discontinued all children’s services. In 2015, ASMC contracted with another organization to provide day services for our group home residents and closed our Day Activity program.
As hard as these decisions were to make, they have allowed ASMC to focus on our original mission of serving adults, especially those that have very significant and challenging disabilities; an area where we have been most successful for nearly 40 years
