Update Dec. 8, 2014: Brandon Cramer died Nov. 24 in his sleep at his California home, according to his mother . He was 41. On Sunday, a memorial service was held on Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade where he was a "beloved fixture" in the oceanside community.

Memorial held today for Brandon & it was extraordinary! Tons of people saying how much they loved my son firemen, policemen, and merchants.

Catch America Tonight's remembrance of Cramer Monday at 9 p.m. ET/6 PT on Al Jazeera America. Also, tune in Tuesday for a report on how early and intensive intervention may help children with a high risk of autism.

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Brandon Cramer showed America Tonight around his small Santa Monica apartment, complete with entertainment center, bed and iPad – all the trappings of adult living. But getting to this point was not easy: Cramer, 40, is autistic and unable to hold down a job or drive a car because of his epileptic seizures. Still, here in this government-subsidized apartment – and with the help of Social Security – Cramer has what some parents fear their own autistic children never will: An independent life.

“I like it a lot, because I can come and go as I please,” he said. “I don’t have to worry. I feel happier.”

Cramer is at the leading edge of a coming tidal wave of autistic adults. The prevalence of autism has soared in the last two decades: In 2000, the National Institutes of Health estimated that one in 500 children had an autism spectrum disorder. Now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts that number at one in 88.

There are more resources and support for autistic kids today than there were in the past, but when they reach 18 or 22 – depending on the state – most special needs programs stop and families face an uncertain future. Nearly half a million autistic children will become adults in the next decade but fewer than 10 percent of autistic adults now hold full-time jobs, according to the Social Security Administration.

“I think the biggest concern is, one of them is, that he’d have something to do, like have a job,” said Molly Harris, whose 19-year-old son James has autism. “But also it’s safety, because James is naive and trusting. So we do need to work with teaching him about what’s safe and what’s not safe. Where do you go if you need help?”