Best Buddies Living is an inclusive housing opportunity for people both with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities. With an apartment format, residents are living independently, typically working or attending school. At Best Buddies Living there are also planned social activities including weekly dinners and four monthly events. The events can be anything from game nights at the apartment to community events around Gainesville. Residents also have the opportunity to work with the on-site residential manager on independent living skills such as cooking, cleaning, money management, social skills, and more. These meetings are tailored specifically to each resident to help them reach their own personal goals.

Tuesday
April 8, 2025
7:00 - 8:30PM
ONLINE

In this workshop, we will discuss what a Life Care Plan is and the steps recommended to create one for a loved one with special needs. As a caregiver of a dependent with special needs the single most important issue on your mind, regardless of the age of the dependent, is what will happen to my dependent after I’m gone. There are some needs that will always be present and they must be carefully considered and planned for appropriately. This workshop will address such critical issues as protecting government benefit eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid, creating Special Needs Trusts, the importance of a Will, Guardianship, Financial Strategies including ABLE Accounts and preparing Letters of Intent. You will learn about the comprehensive steps, available resources, and necessary tools to help develop your personal agenda – a customized path that will keep you on track as you consider what’s right for your situation. Following the planning stages can help insure the type of care and quality of life for your loved one’s well-being today and tomorrow. 

Wednesday
April 16, 2025
7:00 - 8:00PM
ONLINE

Session 1: Preparing for Disasters: Creating a Disaster Supply Kit
It’s important to have the necessary supplies for a disaster kit. In this presentation, participants will learn about what needs to go into a disaster supply kit, how long to prepare, what to consider for loved ones with special needs, and how to store the supplies.

Session 2: Preparing for Disasters: Evacuation and Shelter Planning        
Evacuation and Shelter planning takes early awareness and education. This webinar will guide your planning and give you tips to make sure you and your loved ones will be safe in the event of needing to leave your home and find shelter. Special needs planning is discussed in this workshop.

Wednesdays
April 23 & 30, 2025
6:00 - 7:00pm
ONLINE

Driving and community mobility enables adolescents to begin to develop social capital (relationships and social connections that an individual has within his or her community). This can affect their overall quality of life long-term. Neurodiverse novice drivers face challenges to participate in this area that begin long before they take the learner’s permit test. This presentation will cover barriers to participation, pre-driving skills and the role driver rehabilitation may play in achieving the goal of independent mobility.

Monday
May 12, 2025
5:00 - 6:00PM

The Center for Autism and Related Disabilities is offering a 3-day Introductory Training on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2). The ADOS-2 is a measure used for assessing and diagnosing autism across ages, developmental levels, and language levels. This is an introductory workshop with instructional methods that include lectures, videos, demonstrations of administration and scoring, and discussions. This workshop is designed for researchers and clinicians with prior background in autism spectrum disorder and formal testing, including speech-language pathologists, physicians, psychologists, school-based autism specialists, and occupational therapists. This training is necessary for anyone planning to use the ADOS-2 in clinical or school settings and serves as a prerequisite for more in depth training required to obtain research reliability in order to use the ADOS-2 for research purposes. 

Wednesday - Friday
July 9, 10, & 11, 2025
9:00AM - 4:00PM
GAINESVILLE

04/02/25 Marion Oaks Municipal Services’ Autism Resource and Information Event (Ocala)
04/12/25 UF Health Shands Children's Hospital's Healthy Heroes Day for Kids Safety Fair (Gainesville)
04/12/25 Waldo Community New Vision Coalition's Annual Waldo Community Health & Education Fair (Waldo)
04/19/25 Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo's Party for the Planet (Gainesville)
04/26/25 Just Between Friends' Safe KIDS Day (Alachua)
05/16/25 Alachua County Public Schools, Sidney Lanier Center’s Spring Spectacular (Gainesville)
07/23/25 Alachua County/City of Gainesville's 2025 Disability Awareness Expo (Gainesville)
08/09/25 Alachua County Library District-Millhopper Branch’s Homeschool Resource Fair (Gainesville)

Recruiting individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or related disorders ages 3-19. Researchers from the University of Florida from the Behavior Analysis Ph.D. program are conducting a study to evaluate whether children with ASD or related disorders prefer to receive praise or hear about their preferred conversation topics as a reward for staying on task.

Alachua, Bradford, Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Lafayette, Levy, Marion, Putnam, Suwannee, Union

All CARD services are FREE OF CHARGE.