NYTimes looks at the cost of treating (or not treating) autism

From the NYTimes on January 23, 2010:
“Autism trends, treatments and therapies routinely make headlines. Often overlooked, though, is the financial burden for many families with autistic children.
Treatment is extremely expensive. Direct medical and nonmedical costs can add up to as much as $72,000 a year for someone with an extreme case of the disorder, and even $67,000 a year for those on the lower end of the spectrum, according to a study from the Harvard School of Public Health.” Read the entire article

While the article talks a lot about the high cost of the various therapies used to treat autism, it also briefly mentions a study by the Harvard School of Public Health that looks at the cost of not providing early intervention for a child with autism. The study estimated that it cost $3.2 million to care for a person with autism throughout their lifetime. The early intervention that many people are fighting for, like ABA, could dramatically reduce or even eliminate this cost by allowing the child to catch up with their peers at an early age and begin learning in a regular environment as soon as the 1st grade. While many people argue about the cost of mandated treatment for these children, I think this is a critical point to make sure is understood. An investment now will be only a fraction of what costs down the road could be. Not to mention it will drastically change the child’s entire life.