Economic cost of autism in the UK

Abstract

Autism has lifetime consequences, with potentially a range of impacts on the health, wellbeing, social integration and quality of life of individuals and families. Many of those impacts are economic. This study estimated the costs of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in the UK. Data on prevalence, level of intellectual disability and place of residence were combined with average annual costs of services and support, together with the opportunity costs of lost productivity. The costs of supporting children with ASDs were estimated to be pound 2.7 billion each year. For adults, these costs amount to pound 25 billion each year. The lifetime cost, after discounting, for someone with ASD and intellectual disability is estimated at approximately pound 1.23 million, and for someone with ASD without intellectual disability is approximately pound 0.80 million.

Bullying of children and adolescents with autism spectrum conditions: a ‘state of the field’ review

“…Efficacious bullying prevention strategies could feasibly reduce the need for referrals to mental health services for those with ASC, both during childhood and into adulthood. Thus, aside from the obvious benefits of reduced suffering, there is a clear 'invest to save' argument, especially given the high economic cost of autism (Knapp, Romeo, and Beecham 2009). Moreover, as noted at the beginning of this article, bullying of students with autism gives us a clear case study of the continuing inequities that exist in our school systems.…”

The trouble with brain imaging: Hope, uncertainty and ambivalence in the neuroscience of autism

“…For one thing, proposed changes to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM) would remove communication from the three domains, and would also collapse the distinction between autism and cognate diagnoses like Asperger's Syndrome (APA, 2011). The one in one-hundred figure may have to be revised too -a March 2012 report from the Centres for Disease Control, in the United States, increased this to one in eighty-eight (CDC, 2012), while the £34-billion cost, already a notable increase from a 2009 estimate (Knapp et al, 2009), is described as 'tentative' (Knapp, 2012). More to the point, perhaps, there is also now some disagreement about whether the triad, causally, actually composes a single neurodevelopmental disorder (Geschwind and Levitt, 2007;Happé and Ronald, 2008), while the 'specific genetic etiology' of autism, after more than a decade of research, 'remains largely unknown' (Gupta and State, 2007: 429).…”

The Economics of Autism in Egypt

“…Studies on Great Britain confirm the lifetime costs of autism. However, they suggest that minor improvements in life outcomes for autistic individuals could substantially reduce lifetime costs (Järbrink and Knapp, 2001;Knapp et al, 2009). Another study finds considerable variations in caseload and spending between British social service and welfare agencies due to case recognition and service provision policies (Bebbington and Jennifer, 2007).…”