Financial strategies for parents with autistic children

Caring for a child with autism can take its toll on a family, including a financial one that advisors should know how to combat.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports the likelihood of a school-aged American child receiving a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome, autism or a related developmental disorder rose more than 70% between 2007 and 2012. It also reported that roughly 1 in 50 children in the United States are diagnosed with autism today, a rise from 1 in 1,000 in 1980.

Meanwhile, the advocacy group Autism Speaks says that the financial expense of caring for a person with autism can run an estimated $1.4 million over the course of their lifetime. That cost can surge to more than $2.3 million for those who are impacted with intellectual disabilities, or in other words have an IQ of 70 or less.

Put all these facts together and the result is an alarming one for parents of autistic children. As much as they want to spend on their children to provide them with the proper care, most families will find the costs prohibitive. Furthermore, parents of autistic children are simultaneously tasked with saving to meet their own retirement needs.

The choice for parents to spend on their kids' care or save for their own well-being can often become daunting, if not downright demoralizing. However, there are some things special-needs families can do to reduce the financial challenges they face.

Charlie Massimo, senior vice president and financial advisor at Wealth Enhancement Group, is a parent to two children on the autism spectrum and is passionate about helping families like his own navigate personal and financial challenges. He suggests parents create a vision statement or a letter of intent to serve as a guiding document to provide direction and focus for planning a child’s care.

“It should be flexible enough to accommodate adjustments along the journey, while always keeping the child’s best interest and goals at the forefront," Massimo said. "Parents should focus on areas such as the child’s unique strengths and abilities, aspirations and interests, current level of independence and potential for growth, and overall well-being.”

As for saving for your children’s needs while still taking care of your own, he suggests starting with a goal that is both dollar- and date-specific, and working from there to build a plan to support that goal.

“Understand your current resources and create buckets for each goal and identify ways these will be filled,” said Massimo. “As life changes, it’s important to check in at least once a year on your plans and goals to reassess.”

“Working with a professional to provide support along the financial journey of caring for a child with a disability is crucial as well. It can offer great peace of mind knowing that their day-to-day living needs will be provided for long after they’re gone,” he said.

[More: A financial planning lifeline for those caring for people with disabilities]

Finally, Massimo recommends that parents with special needs children should be aware of government programs designed to help them defray some of those care costs. He says that many parents don’t realize that government assistance is available for families of all means through programs such as Medicaid, Social Security and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

“The qualifying test for Medicaid doesn’t factor in family income or assets, but rather the capabilities of the disabled individual. The level of available support depends on whether people can safely live at home, on their own or in a group setting," Massimo said. "In addition, states have their own programs that provide a wide range of support services for disabled individuals from preschool through secondary school, generally until age 21.”