The High Cost of Raising an Autistic Child

The emotional aspect of autism gets a lot of attention, but one area often overlooked is the cost of caring for an autistic child.

Parents across the country are struggling to pay for the care their children need.

The Iallonardi's have a house in the suburbs. three young children and loving parents. Your typical family. Except for one thing.

Michele Iallonardi says, "All three of our boys were diagnosed with Autism. Jackson was diagnosed at two and a half, the twins were diagnosed a little after their first birthday. So all three of our children were diagnosed within one year's time.

At the very beginning you're just numb and you just think okay, three kids with autism. Where do you go from here? "

They went was into debt.

Ralph says, "We first took out a loan to kind of set up an area for the children in the house to do therapy and we started out with fifteen or twenty thousand dollars on a home equity loan. And that was three years ago. The home equity loan is now up to sixty-seven thousand.

It's very easy to say no to buying clothes and saying no to buying a better car and saying no to painting your walls or whatever, but it's hard to say no to some kind of supplement or diet or therapy that could help your kid talk. "

It adds up quickly.

A study by Harvard professor Michael Ganz puts the lifetime cost of caring for an autistic child at more than three million dollars.

He says, "3.2 million per person or $35 billion for society consists of medical costs, such as doctors visits, medications and therapies, it consists of non-medical costs such as adult care, childcare, special education and it also consists of lost income both parental lost income and the lost income of people with autism."

For Ralph and Michele Iallonardi, and many other parents, it's not about the cost.

It's about their kids.

According to Ralph, "You're talking about meeting basic needs like. Basic needs. Right. So you'll do whatever. "

One thing the Iallonardis aren't doing is consulting a financial planner, which some say should go hand-in-hand with the diagnosis.

Michael Beloff is a financial advisor with morgan stanley and the father of an autistic son.

He says, "I find that parents tend to focus on the day-to-day issues; the next doctor's appointment, meeting with the schools, meeting with the therapist, what sometimes gets lost is the long-term plan."

The Iallonardis still need to plan for the financial future of their autistic sons but that plan now involves the long-term care of two instead of all three of their boys.

Luca, one of the twins was recently declassified and is said to be developing normally.

Ralph says, "I love my boys. We love each other. We draw inspiration from your kids. If you told me a year ago that Jackson would say his first words, I couldn't put a price tag on that. My house, the equity line of credit, who cares! That would all be frivolous. "