Families of autistic children struggle to maintain heavy financial toll
The Autism News | English
SALT LAKE CITY—Autism routinely makes headlines for new trends and treatments. But what is often overlooked is the financial burden on the families who have children with autism.
Parents estimate costs can be as high as $45,000 per year for treatment. Experts calculate care at more than $3 million over an autistic person’s life time. And in many cases none of that is covered by insurance.
Chris and Becky Fry have tried to give their kids a normal childhood, but it has not been easy. They have gone into debt to help their 4-year-old with autism – a disorder that affects the brain’s development of social and communication skills.
“We are trying to make our other kids not have to suffer and go without. It’s just hard, we have a 16-year-old who wants a car. A couple of years ago we would have been in a position to do that and now we don’t know what we’re going to do,” said Becky Fry.
For the Frys, they can only afford minimum treatment.
Behavioral classes for their son Bridger run $1,000 per month. Bridger tends to get hurt a lot. Last year’s emergency room visits cost $1,000 dollars.
To “Bridger proof” the house they guess it is a couple hundred dollars annually. The Frys say soon they will have to buy a GPS system to keep track of him, which will cost $200 plus a $30 monthly fee.
The Frys estimate it would cost another 15-$20,000 dollars to get speech therapy, which they haven’t been able to afford.
“We are going broke doing it, we really are,” says Becky.
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