High costs put parents off seeking treatment for austistic children

Experts at the Autism Around the World Conference in Dubai say lower-income families, in particular, struggle with costs of care.

DUBAI // Many families of children with autism cannot afford treatment, which can cost up to Dh40,000 a month, experts say.

That makes it less likely for children with autism disorders to receive the full care they need, said Dr Hibah Shata, director of the Child Early Intervention Medical Centre in Dubai Healthcare City.

“The problem is funding,” Dr Shata said. “Most of the families cannot afford the cost.”

Funding problems mean that non-profit clinics, which typically serve Emirati children, have long waiting lists for sufferers of autism, a group of developmental disorders.

Autism affects social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication, and behaviour.

The Autism Around the World Conference was held on Thursday and Friday at the Mohammed bin Rashid Academic Centre in Dubai Healthcare City.

International and local speakers gave lectures focusing on communication and language development for people with autism.

“We see a lot of government funding being put into getting services for special-needs individuals and here there are some, but they are mostly for Emirati nationals,” said Asma Rizvi, who heads the centre’s speech pathology department and spoke at the conference.

The issue can mean families may avoid signing up their children for enough treatment hours because the costs are too high.

“The people specialised in this field are very, very few,” said Dr Shata.

Children with autism spectrum disorders usually need 20 to 40 hours of behavioural therapy a week, she said. Often, they require one-on-one treatment.

Costs can range from Dh4,000 to as much as Dh40,000 a month, depending on the specialists working with the child and the number of hours a week, said Dr Shata.

She said the less expensive options were not always enough and called on parents to provide their own therapy for their children.

Very few insurance companies pay for treatment, and if they do, it is usually only for a limited time or does not cover all the types of therapy the child may need.

“It would be a big help if government bodies stepped in and said all kids with special needs should get a certain amount of funding. It would make a big difference,” Ms Rizvi said.

She said many families that struggle with funding autism treatment for their children are expats, particularly lower-income Arab and Pakistani families.

“There is a big portion of society that is being neglected for so many reasons,” she said. “I think over the years the awareness campaigns have really helped in getting parents to come out and seek help, which they never did before.

“But we are still far, far from where the US or more western societies are at in terms of supporting these families of special needs and individuals with special needs.”

Treating autism “doesn’t happen overnight”, Dr Shata said. But early treatment for children is crucial to help them attend mainstream schools.

“As an investment on the long term, it is a saving for the family on years and years of having a caregiver to look after the child,” Ms Rizvi said.

“Once you start to try to put the child with normal children, the child is able to imitate and learn from them, to socialise and achieve better communication levels, and hopefully learn to achieve academically.”