Study: Lifetime cost of supporting person with autism could be in millions

Jun 11 2014

Researchers listed among the main factors contributing to this price tag were special education for children and residential care for adults as well as lost productivity for parents.

Kaiser Health News: Capsules: Study Puts A Price Tag On Autism
Autism exacts a heavy toll on families across the country, but what is the financial cost of the disorder? Now we have an actual price tag: the lifetime cost of supporting a person with autism ranges from $1.4 million to $2.4 million in the United States, depending on whether the person also has an intellectual disability (Gold, 6/10).

Reuters: Cost Of Autism Adds Up: Study
The cost of supporting people with autism spectrum disorders throughout their lives could be as high as $2.4 million per person, according to a new estimate. The main drivers of costs among children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) were special education and lost productivity for parents, researchers found. Among adults, the main drivers of costs were residential care and their own lost productivity (Seaman, 6/9).

In related news --

CQ Healthbeat: Lawmakers Strike Bipartisan Pact to Renew Autism Programs
Lawmakers have reached a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on a five-year reauthorization of federal autism programs, boosting the package's chances of clearing Congress before central provisions of the Combating Autism Act sunset at the end of September. New Jersey Democrat Robert Menendez and Wyoming Republican Michael B. Enzi plan to introduce the compromise legislation in the Senate on Monday, according to a Senate source involved in the negotiations, while the House Energy and Commerce Committee is expected amend the current bill (HR 4631) to report out the new language at a Tuesday markup (Attias, 6/9).