A new government study - the first to look at the impact of autism on a family's finances - found that having an autistic child causes severe financial strain, partly because parents often quit their jobs to care for their child and partly because these children often need multiple treatments such as behavioral therapy, speech therapy, and medications.

The study, which appeared in the December 2008 issue of the journal Pediatrics, compared the expenses of parents with autistic children to those with children who had other special needs. Those with autistic children were three times more likely to quit their jobs or reduce their hours at work to care for children, and they were spending more on their child's health care. They were also more likely than parents of other special-needs children to have financial difficulties.

Author Michael Kogan and his colleagues at the U.S. Maternal and Child Care Bureau used survey data collected on over 40,000 children with special needs.

Autism is a developmental disorder that affects more than 500,000 American children. The symptoms can range from relatively mild problems in communication and social interaction to a debilitating syndrome that includes severe mental retardation.

Labels: autism, money, expenses

Posted By: Aspen Education Group