Family plans for autistic daughter's adult life

CHESTER SPRINGS - Like a typical mother, Marie Louise Ludwig was thrilled to hear her daughter, Stephanie, say the word Mommy. The fact that it happened when Stephanie, who is autistic, was 15, made the milestone even sweeter.

"I think it's a word a lot of mothers take for granted," said Ludwig, who lives in Phoenixville with her husband, Andy, and Stephanie Kier, now 21.

But Stephanie, who graduated in June from Devereux in West Chester, can't live with her parents forever. So Ludwig bought a house in Chester Springs for her daughter Oct. 10 with money raised through the nonprofit she started four years ago, Stephanie's House.

The plan is for Stephanie, her caregivers, and at least two other young women to live in the LIFE home, which Ludwig said stands for "Love Inspired Family Environment."

The house also is to be a meeting place for parents looking for help. Ludwig said Stephanie's House had already amassed more than $230,000 through fund-raising and had a goal of $350,000.

On Saturday, Stephanie's House will sell hundreds of donated handbags, pieces of jewelry, home goods, and other items at its fifth annual "Autism Shops" fund-raiser at the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge in Phoenixville from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Profits will help pay for the estimated $75,000 in renovations to the house, including installing a fence and alarm system so the women can't wander off.

"Children with autism grow up to be adults with autism," said Ludwig, who is 52 and also has two sons. "And I'll tell you, it happens in the blink of an eye."

As Stephanie grew up, her family saw that they wanted something different for her than group homes or other available options. By providing Stephanie with her own house, Ludwig said, she doesn't have to worry about the quality of care Stephanie will receive.

The concept for Stephanie's House came from another nonprofit, Katie's House, started in 2001 by a parent in North Jersey. Evelyn Dudziec has helped mentor the Ludwigs.

"I encourage all parents, if it's possible to do something like this, to do it," said Dudziec, who estimates hundreds of people across the country have asked her for advice on starting their own nonprofits since her daughter moved into her own house in 2007.

Dudziec's 28-year-old daughter, Katie, lives in a house with a few other women in Newton, N.J. Dudziec has a second house, also in Newton, for male residents.

Likewise, Ludwig said dozens of people across the country had asked her for advice on how to help their children.

Life-sharing, in which an autistic person lives with a family willing to take him or her in, is one option available to parents no longer able to care for their children. Ludwig decided against it.

"For most folks, a 150-pound, 5-foot-10 person who is really 2 or 3 years old, a lot of people are not prepared for it," Andy Ludwig, Stephanie's stepfather, said.

One in 88 children in the United States has some form of autism, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the next 10 years, about 500,000 U.S. children with autism will become adults, the advocacy group Autism Speaks said.

"We're not very well-prepared for this influx of individuals with autism who will need housing as well as residential support to allow them to live as independently as possible," said Lisa Goring, vice president of family services at Autism Speaks.

Waiting lists for housing are long and money is limited, so parents are taking things into their own hands to fill this tremendous need, Goring said.

Autism Speaks and other advocacy agencies offer services to help with the transition from school to adulthood.

Jennifer Brown, who works with New Jersey's nonprofit Neighbours Inc., has been following Stephanie's story on Facebook. Brown helps people over 21 with autism live the best lives they can.

"Very often, people with disabilities get told what they're going to do with their lives," she said. She didn't want that for her 16-year-old son, Kyle, who will move into his own home soon.

Her goal is for Kyle, who loves being outside, to eventually earn a living through the farm she and her husband own in Tewksbury, N.J.

For Ludwig, Stephanie's future is bright. Although Stephanie needs constant supervision and can't bathe herself or cut her own food, she can read and write and loves to swim.

She knows what she likes: macaroni and cheese, honey crisp apples, baked potatoes, and all things Disney. Ludwig said she looked forward to seeing Stephanie be as independent as she can in her new house.

"I know if I was 21," Ludwig said, "I wouldn't want to be living with my mother."

610-313-8105 @MichaelleBond