Children with autism cost parents €28k extra a year

PARENTS of children with autism pay an extra €28,000 a year on top of State supports, a study has found.

Access to autism spectrum disorders services in Ireland is overly dependent on the ability of families to pay for those services, placing them under substantial financial hardship, according to the new NUI Galway research.

As well as consuming the State’s annual expenditure of €14,192 per child on autism-related health, social and educational services, parents are hit with average additional costs of €28,464 – on private services, lost income and informal care.

Families whose children were more severely affected, and those with more than one autistic child, faced significantly higher costs.

The study surveyed 195 parents of 222 children. Ciarán O’Neill, Adjunct Professor of Health Economics at NUIG and co-author of the paper, said: ‘The study provides valuable insights into a neglected area of research. The findings should spur policy-makers in Ireland to rethink the support provided to children with ASD [autism spectrum disorders] and their families.’

The Dollard family in Portlaoise, Co. Laois, have highlighted the difficulties facing parents of autistic children. Martin and Sarah-Jayne Dollard have two children with autism: Ross, 17, and Molly Mai, who turns five this year.

After Ross’s autism diagnosis aged four, he received early intervention services. He was non-verbal when diagnosed but within two months he was talking. However, more recently, an assessment of need for Molly Mai, to effectively rubber-stamp her diagnosis and allow access to State services, has taken longer than the legally required six months.

Because of this delay, her parents paid for a private assessment – but still struggled to find her an appropriate primary school place ahead of her fifth birthday. Fortunately, a mainstream school in Laois has offered her a place in its ASD unit.