Among the challenges families face when receiving a diagnosis of autism, is the financial pressure associated with their child’s disability. Medical expenses alone are estimated to be four to six times greater than a child without Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In addition, intensive behavioral interventions, are estimated to cost between $40,000-$50,000 annually (PBS.org Newshour, 2011). At this cost, access to minimum recommended services can seem out of reach for many families.
While most insurance companies, both private and public provide behavioral services for kids with a medical based diagnosis of Autism, they more often than not will only provide the absolute bare minimum which is typically 5-15 hours per week. Parents are often left to fill in the downtime of their child’s day with other services. Some may choose to hire an ABA therapist or technician and pay out-of-pocket, an average of $80-$90 (average in the San Francisco Bay Area) per hour .
This financial consideration is further coupled with the enormous challenges of gaining access to providers whether through insurance or private pay. Particularly when families are often met with long waiting lists of up to 6 months to a year for some ABA providers through local private agencies and/or personal insurance companies. Families in the bay area report having to wait months for their child’s services to begin and when they do, they are often not able to fulfill all of the recommended service hours.
There are about 1.2 million kids living with autism – that’s more than 1 in every 50 kids (~3-17 years of age). And as the rate of diagnoses increases, so does the need for quality behavioral service providers. While there is already a significant shortage in major metropolitan and urban areas, the problem is only exacerbated amongst disadvantaged communities with an even smaller supply of behavior service providers. Which is all very disheartening when everything we know about a good prognosis relates to early intervention and intensive treatment. (Science Daily, 2009)
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