He noted that until age 21 each district is obligated to provide a free and appropriate education for all children under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) enacted in 1975.

“Most children finish high school at 18 or 19 but it holds till age 21 or the end of the school year,” explained Horowitz. “After that you are on your own.”

Horowitz noted that most parents sign up with an agency when their child ages out of the system and that the service coordinator there assists in getting a Medicaid waiver that helps provide services and programs.

“It can be good,” he said, but then you are “at the mercy of the agency.” He pointed out that he has qualified for consolidated support services, independently putting in a “huge” amount to time coordinating his son’s care, dealing with hiring and vetting coaches, and staying on top of paper work, payroll plans and goals.

“You need motivation and time and ability and effort,” he said. “The rewards are enormous. It allows self-determination and the hope of independent life and the self-esteem of independence — it’s the only way to go.”

The younger Horowitz is currently 24 and works 12 hours a week doing clerical work at a law firm and stocking shelves at CVS. He is involved in other community programming including a group for teenagers at the JCC (Jewish Community Center of the Greater Five Towns), a Kulanu program at DRS (Yeshiva High School for Boys in Woodmere), and he volunteers at the JCC and the Chabad (Levi Yitzchak) library in Cedarhurst.

“Post school age there are few programs,” agreed Richard Altabe, noted educator, executive vice president of TOVA mentoring and principal at Magen David Yeshiva High School. “It’s outside of the realm of the yeshiva system. It’s important to raise awareness; we need programs for the post high school population.”