. >> reporter: linda walder is the executive director of the daniel jordan fiddle foundation -- a nonfit think-tank devoted to studying the issues around adults with autism. because autism prevalence rates have more than doubled over the last decade, she says an estimated half a million young people with autism will age out in the next ten years. >> and it's a tsunami of children who are aging to adult life. >> do you stop having autism when you turn 21? >> that is one of the general misconceptions about autism is that it only affects children. >> you don't outgrow autism? >> you do not outgrow autism. >> look, we're gonna play catch! >> reporter: the clock is ticking on nicholas kubicsko's services too. the long island teenager has just months left before he turns 21 and loses access to resources his mother says have changed his, and her, life. >> i never gave up on nick. i always knew that there was more to him. i knew that he was in there. i knew he was trying and when we supported him at home. i kept getting glimpses. i knew where that young man was. >> reporter: finding a way to