Featured Press

Sweetwater Spectrum revitalizes resident socialization program with Pets Lifeline

Sweetwater Spectrum has revitalized a program that enables its residents with autism and related disabilities to develop caring relationships with cats and dogs.

Sonoma Hospitality Teams Up With Sweetwater Spectrum This Autism Awareness Month

In honor of Autism Awareness month this April, the Sonoma restaurant and tasting room community has teamed up to help spread awareness of autism, the need for continued research, and...

The Architecture of Autism - October 2013

Here is a truth about children with autism: they grow up to become adults with autism. Advocates estimate that over the next decade some 500,000 such individuals will come of...

Spring Farmers’ Market Review

The Sonoma Friday Farmers’ Market at Depot Park is a Sonoma tradition that spans over 35 years. This outdoor event, set in the parking lot for Arnold Field, is the...

SolarCraft Completes Third Installation for Sonoma’s Sweetwater Spectrum

SolarCraft has completed a 16.4 kW solar energy system addition at Sweetwater Spectrum Community, a residential development geared for adults with autism in Sonoma, Calif.

Architecture with Autism in Mind

On Oct. 5, 2023, Olivia Vain, executive director of Sweetwater Spectrum, walks through the recently completed residential building, where every element is designed to consider those with autism and sensory...

114: This Long-Term Housing Solution is Changing the Way Adults with Special Needs Live

The population of those with developmental disabilities is, unfortunately, growing larger, and many in this group will need support of some kind for the rest of their lives. In fact,...

Celebrating holidays at Sweetwater Spectrum, Sonoma’s autistic community

Sweetwater Spectrum breaks ground on new building

Construction crews this month broke ground on the planned expansion of Sweetwater Spectrum, the Sonoma home for adults living with autism.

Sweetwater Spectrum gets new executive director in Olivia Vain

Kory Stradinger, executive director of Sweetwater Spectrum, is stepping down after six years as leader of the Sonoma home for adults living with autism. His last day will be April...

At Sweetwater Spectrum in Sonoma, adults with autism reside, thrive - January 2016

Like any proud mom, Dr. Carolyn Klebanoff, easily chats about her daughter Jane’s many talents, interests and abilities. Among that long list of achievements is Jane’s independence at age 22....

Growing Love and Microgreens at Sweetwater Spectrum

Just two blocks off the hustle and bustle of Highway 12 near the Sonoma Plaza, I press a code into the keypad of a fortress-esque private gate that silently swings...

Sonoma’s Sweetwater Spectrum sets the standard for special needs housing

For parents of young children with special needs such as autism, worry is a way of life. They worry about the child’s special education structure and protecting the child from...

Soup and Socializing for Sonoma Seniors

Vintage House will launch a new program this summer called “Soups for Seniors,” in partnership with Sweetwater Spectrum and F.I.S.H.

Disability Housing: ‘How Sweet It Is’ to Have Choices - June 2016

How many choices do you make in a day? We choose how and with whom we spend our time. We make choices about when to wake up, what to wear,...

Young Adults with Autism Thrive in Their New Home - December 2015

Eight years in the making, a new living environment for young adults with autism is attracting nationwide attention to their shared homes in downtown Sonoma. The physical environment at Sweetwater...

Sweetwater Spectrum Landscape Architect Wins Award - 2015

Sweetwater Spectrum is an innovative and pioneering model for meeting the unique everyday living needs of adults with Autism. Building on published research and working with the non-profit board of...

Recycling Partnership at Jack London Park in Glen Ellen Goes Beyond Monetary Value - April 2015

Andrew Kirk wasn’t too sure about the recycling gig at Jack London State Historic Park when the Sonoma man first pitched in to help. Like many people who have autism,...

When Autism Comes of Age - April 7, 2015

It’s hard to guess what’s behind the pretty, modern-looking gate on Fifth Street West just north of Spain Street. A vast estate? A boutique hotel? An upscale apartment complex? Two...

Life With Purpose - January 2015

Sweetwater Spectrum in Sonoma is a unique residential community designed for adults with autism. Made up of a quartet of fourbedroom homes and a community center set on three acres...

Sweetwater Spectrum Model Home - July 2013

Although large population trends, such as the skyrocketing number of seniors in the United States, grab a lot of attention, the nation is also on the cusp of a smaller...

Autism and Design (Free Webinar) - May 6, 2013

Over the past thirty years the incidence of autism has climbed from 1 in 10,000 children in the 1970s to the present rate of 1 in 88 (CDC). With the...

Sweetwater Spectrum-Innovative Housing for Adults with Autism

In Sonoma, a green community that's free of sensory overloads - February 2013

Last week, Ariel Schwartz over at Co.Exist published a fantastic piece on Sweetwater Spectrum, a privately funded $9 million development in the heart of downtown Sonoma, Calif., that’s the first...

The First Housing Community For Autistic Adults Has An Organic Garden, A Greenhouse, and Hot Tubs - February 2013

We hear a lot about kids with autism, and for good reason: As the fastest-growing developmental disability in the U.S., it affects one in 88 kids, compared to about one...

Sweetwater Spectrum Housing - September 2012

A group of families of people with autism came up with a wonderful idea. It is called Sweetwater Spectrum, a residential pilot community being developed in Sonoma, CA for adults...

Bay Area Project To Give Autistic Adults A Place To Call Home

Bay Area Project To Give Autistic Adults A Place To Call Home

Innovative Housing for Adults with Autism

Sweetwater Spectrum, a new residential community in Sonoma, California, is a critical first step in a concept that can be reproduced around California and the U.S. The design specifically addresses...

Autism and parenting: Don’t be afraid to ask for help - March 2012

The news of the Sunnyvale mother who shot her autistic son before turning the gun on herself has shocked and saddened the autism community, but sadly, the story is similar...