The Cost of Autism

Autism has been known as one of the most severe neurological disorders affecting children for about fifty years, but until recently, it was considered to be fairly rare, affecting less than one in 1000 people. Now however, we understand that autism encompasses a far broader spectrum of disorders that are characterized by varying degrees of disability. That has led to an 'explosion' of diagnoses among the general population. Some of the latest research and figures suggest that as many as 1 in 166 people are affected by some degree of autism.

Exactly what is the cause of the sudden rise of cases of autism diagnosed has been a subject of much debate. Many people believe that there is a true rise in the incidence of autism, and blame it on some environmental cause - from the increase of heavy metals like mercury poisoning the air and water to the vaccines mandated by the government before a child can enter school. Others claim that the apparent 'epidemic' of autism is based far more on better methods of diagnosing and reporting, more public awareness, and more aggressive identification of symptoms than on an actual increase in the number of people with autism or autistic spectrum disorders.

In fact, a great deal of the news about the prevalence of autism is based on statistics drawn from reports from school departments that receive funds for delivering services to disabled children. Since autism was only identified as a separate category for reporting in 1990, most of the information that we have dates from then. There is no doubt, however, that the number of reported cases and children and adults receiving services has risen markedly, and continues to rise. Discovering the cause has become something of a quest, because it defines future response and needs that we may have to gear up to face.

Part of that quest has to do with the cost of providing for such a staggering number of people with an autism diagnosis. The only recent study to take a look at financial costs was undertaken in the U.K. in 1998. That study estimated that providing services for a person with autism (specifically, as opposed to a person with another autism spectrum disorder) could be as much as the equivalent of $4 million U.S. dollars. Smaller U.S. studies that haven't been published concur. That could put the cost of providing services for people with autism, Asperger's syndrome and other pervasive developmental disorders in the billions of dollars per year.

There is one bright spot in the bleak forecast - the studies that show how well many children with autistic disorders respond to early intervention. For many, two to three years of early intervention that takes into account behavioral, medical and other therapies can make the difference between requiring special schooling and being able to attend regular classes at a far reduced cost. The estimated cost of providing those services in early intervention is about $75,000 per child per year - and could potentially save hundreds of thousands of dollars in future services.