Caring for someone with autism costs an estimated $3.2 million over a lifetime, according to a 2007 study published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Advocates for early intervention to help children with the condition argue that early intervention, even pricey applied behavioral counseling that may cost more than $50,000 annually, can save money in the long run. Nearly half of children who receive early interventions such as applied behavioral analysis can achieve mainstream status, according to a 2005 study published in the American Journal of Mental Retardation.

Roughly 1 in 68 children has some form of autism. To get help for children with autism is very expensive in America. Services are spotty, depending on the State you live in. To get comprehensive help costs $900 a month in California, supplementing the 30 hours a week “free” care offered by the State.

In July, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said that comprehensive autism services, including early and periodic screening, diagnostic and treatment services, have to be covered for children under all state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides health coverage to lower-income children up to the age of 21.( Adapted and edited from an NPR news item).

Life is a lottery and the parents who, for no fault of their own, find themselves with an autistic child, have really picked the worst possible straw. It is to help and protect families in disastrous situations such as this that we have high taxes and a safety net. And it is decent and humane to have them. The human race has thrived on cooperation and by gathering in cooperative groups in villages and towns, devised a division of labor and worked together to survive in a hostile environment. Now you have the un-public-spirited politicians trying to privatize and dismantle as many aspects of the safety net as possible. Shame on them!