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How Does Autism Affect The Family

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Autism affects a wide variety of people around the world and the symptoms are as diverse as the people diagnosed. The care of these people normally falls on their relatives. This causes a rift in the relationship between the autistic children and their families due to the special needs of the children. Autism affects all ages and the children do not understand why they are labeled different or how to handle situations. This leads to a strain on the family as well as a multitude of things associated with autism. Children with autism require more care compared to a typical child due to the different way their brains process information, emotions, and how the handle situations. Growing up my younger brother was diagnosed with autism and due …show more content…

This is very costly and can leave families in financial limbo do to all the care they need. Elizabeth Picciuto in the Adult, Autistic and Forgotten quotes Susan Senator’s saying “The struggle families face are numerous: health care, housing, caregivers, daytime occupations, relations, sibling needs Guardian situations…” (p 20). The therapy and medications are the most expensive part of healthcare for the families. My brother received therapy several times a week to help him cope with his autism. There were a variety of medicine that he was on to see what worked best with his body but the cost was overwhelming. In the Autism’s Parent Trap Cammie Mcgrovern says “Having an autistic child is estimated to cost a family $10,000 to 50,000 a year in out-of-pocket expenses for medical treatment, therapy and education.” (P6). These expenses are a major source of stress on the parents and cuts down on extracurricular activities the family may do to unwind. Even though the navy covered the bulk of the medical expenses that were accumulated by my brother autism, money was still tight and this lead to us not doing very much. This was something as a child I didn’t notice but as a teenager lead to a small about of resentment due to the fact I wasn’t about to do what other teens could do. I had to explain why I couldn’t do stuff with my friend because I needed to help with my brother or that my family didn’t have the money. Though as time went by I shall how all the medical expenses were helping my brother improve to the point that did not have to attended them as an

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