More than GBP 27 billion spent annually on UK autism care
Research published this week in the journal Autism reveals that providing social help and care for sufferers of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) is costing the UK over GBP 27 billion (EUR 30.7 billion) a year. The study, led by Professor Martin Knapp of the London School of Economics, was presented at a workshop called Autism & Employment which took place on 18 May at Goldsmiths, University of London. The workshop was organised to review current research policy for ASDs, and to help people suffering from ASDs find work and be able to deal with the working environment. Professor Knapp also estimated that supporting children with ASDs was costing the UK's public sector health and housing services GBP 2.7 billion (EUR 3.1 billion) per year, while for adult sufferers the figure was GBP 25 billion (EUR 28.4 billion). The lifetime cost to the economy of an autism sufferer was calculated to be GBP 0.8 million (EUR 0.9 million) for a patient without a mental disability, and GBP 1.2 million (EUR 1.4 million) for someone with autism who was also intellectually disabled. UK public services bear most of the cost of care for autism sufferers. For children with ASDs, most of the costs were for social care, respite care and special education. For adult sufferers, these costs were chiefly for hospital care, sheltered accommodation and lost productivity in cases where a sufferer's intellectual disability prevented them from working. The authors of the study said that the high costs of care mean that earlier interventions in the lives of ASD sufferers should be considered to help improve their quality of life and to mitigate later expense. They also called on the British government to review current policies with regard to independent living and working for ASD sufferers. The researchers stressed that the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of interventions in ASDs must be evaluated further: 'Given that the autistic spectrum includes a number of disorders and a wide range of needs, symptoms and characteristics, it is likely that a wide range of behavioural educational and medical interventions could be required in order to meet some or all individual needs.' They concluded: 'The costs presented in this paper certainly do not provide an economic case for early intervention, but they do emphasise the importance of addressing just that question. If early intervention could successfully change some aspects of behaviour that are cost-raising, both in childhood and subsequently, it may allow cost savings to be made and quality of life improvements to be achieved.'
Countries
United Kingdom