Autism costs may top $2 million over patient’s life

June 9 (Bloomberg) — The cost of caring for an autistic child may exceed $2 million over the individual’s life, on top of the average $250,000 to raise a child today, with most of the expense occurring in adulthood, researchers said.

Expenses for each autistic person with an intellectual disability may be $2.4 million in the U.S. and $2.2 million in the U.K., largely driven by the costs of residential care, special education and reduced employment prospects. For those who don’t have an intellectual disability, costs are estimated to be about $1.4 million per person in both countries, according to a study published today in JAMA Pediatrics.

More than 3.5 million Americans are estimated to have autism, while in the U.K., more than 604,000 have the disorder, the authors said. Today’s findings, by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the London School of Economics and Political Science, look beyond age 18 to include the costs of a potential lifelong disability.