AEIOU News

New Study Places the Cost of Autism Spectrum Disorder at up to $11 billion

Fri, 1 Apr 11

New Study Places the Cost of Autism Spectrum Disorder at up to $11 billion

On 1 April, 2011 Brisbane-based charity AEIOU Foundation will light the Story Bridge blue to recognise Autism Awareness Month.   Saturday 2 April 2011 is International Autism Awareness Day and this is part of an international campaign that will see monuments such as the Sydney Opera House and the Empire State Building turn blue for autism.

The initiative coincides with a study by Synergies Economic Consulting that shows the total cost of autism spectrum disorder for the Australian community is in the order of $7.2 to $11 billion each year. The full report, which will be released later in April bases these figures on the lifespan of each person with an autistic disorder that has not had access to early intervention, resulting in the need for lifelong allied health support.

Each year there are around 750 children diagnosed with an autistic disorder, but funding shortfalls means there up to 500 of these children missing out on life-changing early intervention programs.

AEIOU Foundation CEO Alan Smith said the study proves there is an urgent need for the Australian Government to provide an additional and direct investment of $30 million in funding for early intervention each year to ensure no child misses out.

“This is an initial investment that will in turn significantly reduce the economic impact on the Australian community by more than $1 billion a year in the long-run.  This is due to an improved quality of life. There is less need for allied health care, because individuals have greater ability to learn important life skills. There is also an increase in future employment opportunities,” Mr Smith said.

“ASD is not a rare disorder.  It affects one in every 160 children, and while there is no cure, early intervention helps children achieve milestones many of us take for granted, and learn new skills to reach their full potential.”

Mr Smith said the Federal Government is a strong advocate for early intervention and in 2009, having funded six Autism Specific Early Learning and Care Centres (ASELCC) across the country. This provided 120 fully funded placements for children with autism. AEIOU Foundation manages the Queensland-based ASELCC centre in Brisbane.  

AEIOU Foundation provides an additional 160 fulltime placements for children across Queensland which is partially funded by the State Government but needs to raise money to close a deficit of $10,000 per child, per year under this program.

“The introduction of the ASELCC program is a terrific step in the right direction, but there are still hundreds of children missing out. What we’d love to see is more of these centres available to children,” Mr Smith said.

“Early intervention is expensive in the short term: we have a child to staff ratio of 2:1, and our program’s success is reliant on the quality of our staff, which includes skilled professionals such as teachers, speech pathologists, music and occupational therapists and child psychologists,” Mr Smith said.

“Early intervention is a viable solution for children with autistic disorders. More than 70% of children that complete the early intervention program at AEIOU transition to school.”

“This study highlights that it is crucial the Australian Government allocates this initial investment of $30 million each year,” Mr Smith said.

According to AEIOU Foundation Chairman and parent of a child with autism, Dr James Morton, access to intensive early intervention meeting the Government’s Best Practice Guidelines is crucial for every young child diagnosed with autism.

“The incremental cost to government to ensure that no child with autism misses out is small in comparison to the lifetime cost to the community when considering the long term savings.”

Synergies Economic Consulting will release the updated cost of autism study in April 2011.

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Media enquiries:  

Deborah Hoey, Communications Manager, p: 3320 7520, m: 0400 552 139, e: deborah.hoey@aeiou.org.au  

Laura Daley, Fundraising and Communications Coordinator, p: 3320 7555, m: 0417 284 058, e: laura.daley@aeiou.org.au