Low-income families already face many obstacles that do not exist for those in a higher income bracket. Having a child with autism, though, brings a special set of challenges for all families. These children are gifts, but understanding them and giving them the support they need can put a financial strain on their families.
Autism is one of the most common mental conditions among children affecting 1 in 68 children. The lifetime cost of supporting a child with an autism spectrum disorder is an average of 1.4 million, including behavioral therapy, caregivers’ pay, numerous doctors visits, special schools and camps, and many more accomadations.
This condition sees no race, ethnicity, gender or economic class. Still, the majority of media portrays the autistic community as white and middle to upper class when the reality is that overall earnings in families with children with autism are 28% lower compared to families with neuro-typical children and 21% less than families with children with other health limitations.
This huge difference is mostly due to the fact that, usually, at least one parent of an autistic child will take time off from work at some point in their child’s life to provide them with support and seek helpful services. However, when both parents already struggle to make ends meet, taking time off seems impossible.
Some children with severe autism need around-the-clock care, which in a wealthier family can be solved by hiring a caregiver, thus allowing the parents to work and even relax. However, the majority of low-income and many middle-class families cannot afford such an expense, especially when caregivers experienced in dealing with autistic children come at such high a cost.
These stay at home parents are not just caring for their child but must spend time arguing with insurance companies because the majority do not cover autism services. Some even refuse to cover or even add behavioral-related therapy to your insurance plan because it is considered a “behavioral” concern and not a medical one that should be handled by insurance companies. This “behavioral” concern can help these children accept their differences and learn how to adapt to society, but if they are not even given the opportunity to try it because of money.
It is this attitude that makes it even more difficult more an already struggling family to provide their child with the resources they deserve to succeed.
Impoverished children already have a disadvantage that other kids do not, but factor in the obstacles brought on by autism and you’re asking these children to be superheroes yet they are not even given a cape. Special camps for autistic children are also vital to their social development, but many cost over 1,500 a week. This price tag is impossible for families scraping by on a minimum wage and strenuous for the middle class.
Perhaps the worst outcome of not being able to give an autistic child the resources and accommodations they need is the damage it has on them psychologically.
Autistic children will eventually realize the struggles their parents go through and they may begin to feel like a “burden” because of the stress their situation puts on a family. But these children are not broken, they are not lesser and they could never be a burden. They are beautiful human beings and the ones at fault are the government and insurance companies.
They are the ones who do not ensure that these families have the financial means to help their children reach their full potential. The ones who do not cover therapy sessions or fund special schools and camps, the ones who have simply shoved these children to the side.
We need insurance companies to guarantee coverage of autism services without charging low-income families inexorable amounts of money. We need the government to provide a suitable form of healthcare that meets these children needs. We need our society to stand up and speak for these children who have the world against them.
