Program Governance for a Lifetime of Autism Care
CASE STUDY / LESSONS LEARNED
By Avishek (Avi) Chaudhury, C.Mgr, Dual MBA, PMP, PROSCI
Principal, Sprezza Advisory
Founder & Executive Director
The Living Autism Foundation (Canada)
Toronto (Etobicoke), Ontario, Canada
Abstract
For families raising individuals with autism, the reality is coordination of complex interdependent activities across healthcare, education, therapy funding and transition planning — most often without an integrated support structure. This paper looks at caregiving in ASD through the lens of program management where it is argued that this coordination (which needs to take place across these various workstreams) has structural features like a multi-year program managed to realize outcomes that individual activities cannot achieve alone.
As a father of children with autism and lived experience thereof as well as an experienced program-management practitioner, this article draws on familiar PMO functions to the day-to-day tasks these families do. Thus 5 structural gaps have been identified:
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- The lack of a charter and empowered sponsor.
- Reliance on individual caregivers
- Limited capacity in the family
- Fragmented information and
- Transfer of systemic delays and risks to families
Here is where the paper introduces the Family Program Office (FPO) to fill those gaps. Seven program-management instruments are turned into tools for lifelong care coordination in FPO:
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- A Lifetime Outcomes Charter
- Quarterly family reviews
- Risk and Dependency log
- Stakeholder Map and Responsibility Matrix
- Benefits Realization Plan
- Transition Stage Gates and
- Continuity Book
This paper provides the framework which is intended to support: This paper provides the framework which is intended to support:
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- The work of the group
- Research in general
- Shared decision making
- Continuity of care and
- Outcomes defined by individual and family and parallel alignment of services provided
The paper ends with recommendations for service providers such as:
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- Registered Behavior Therapists, Instructor Therapists, Psychotherapists, Psychiatrists, Speech Therapists, Occupational Therapists and others
- Funders
- Policymakers and
- The project management profession overall
It includes:
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- Ways to integrate family navigation
- Build continuity planning into it
- And use AI as an administrative aid that is carefully governed
The FPO is offered as a practice-oriented framework for further evaluation and adaptation in a diaspora of family and service system environments.
More…
To read entire article, click here
How to cite this paper: Chaudhury, A. (2026). The Family Is the PMO: Program Governance for a Lifetime of Autism Care; PM World Journal, Vol. XV, Issue XI, November. Available online at https://pmworldjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/pmwj170-Nov2026-Chaudhury-The-Family-Is-the-PMO.pdf
About the Author
Avishek (Avi) Chaudhury
Ontario, Canada
Avishek (Avi) Chaudhury, MBA, PMP, is the father of two autistic sons and the Founder and Executive Director of The Living Autism Foundation (Canada), a nationally registered organization supporting families living with autism.
Professionally, he is Principal of Sprezza Advisory, a boutique consultancy specializing in public sector PMO governance and AI governance, and also currently leads PMO strategic initiatives for the City of Toronto’s Transit Expansion Division, governing one of North America’s largest capital programs.
He is the author of whitepapers on public sector decision intelligence and AI-enabled PMOs, and a keynote speaker on embedding AI in program governance. This paper is the first in a two-part series; the second, examining autism service systems through the lens of portfolio governance, is forthcoming.
To connect, collaborate, or bring the Family Program Office framework to your organization, reach out to Avi at sprezzaadvisory.ca | thelivingautismfoundation.ca
