Autism-World

Ask:

I’m doing a paper about autism for a class of mine and I would like to know an estimated amout or something so that I can put it in my paper.

Answer:

Medications, therapies, and other medical managment needs vary greatly from person to person. Not all people with autism need or use medication to manage symptoms or behaviors. Many people with autism have comorbid conditions such as ADHD, OCD, anxiety, BP disorder, and/or Tourette’s. Approximately 25% of the autistic population have seizures. The medications each person uses can vary significantly in cost. Simple medications such as Ativan for anxiety are very inexpensive costing less than $10 a month. Other medications such as Abilify or Zyprexa can cost $500 to $1000 per month easily.

Autism encompases a broad spectrum of ability from very high functioning successful professionals to very low functioning people that need 24hr institutional or home supported care. The biggest need for all levels of ability for people with autism is support and therapies in the educational setting beginning with early education. Services to students with autism is typically the greatest cost per student for a school district because thier needs are so varied, individually unique, and labor intensive frequently necessitating 1:1 instructional support or therapy. The benefit of those services however are life long for the student and increases thier ability to function at all levels throughout thier life.

Some people with autism will go on to lead independent adult lives. Others will benefit from minimal assistance, and still others will always require support and supervision. Even those that do go on to live independently take longer before they are able to do so and need much more support from thier families in the process.

Autism is expensive. It’s not just the cost of medications, therapy, education and sometimes hospitalizations. It is the cost in time, lost opportunities, lost family relationships and friendships. It is the cost of repairing all the damage to a home that an autistic child can wreak. It is the cost of realizing your child might not ever live independently, or get married, or have children of thier own, or any number of other things that we take for granted.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 23rd, 2007 at 9:28 pm and is filed under Ask and answer.