Parents of children with autism are hit hardest in the pocket.
David Mandell of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and colleagues analysed the income of 261 families with an autistic child, 2921 families caring for children with non-autistic conditions and 64,349 families with healthy children. On average, mothers of children with autism earn 35 per cent less than those whose children have a non-autistic condition, and 56 per cent less than mums of healthy kids.
The overall income of families with autistic children was 21 per cent lower than families caring for children with other conditions.
Mandell says the problem is the patchiness of care on offer compared with what is available for children with other difficulties.
"This will be welcomed for the light it shines on the reality of caring for someone with this special disability," says Simon Baron Cohen of the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge, UK.
Journal reference: Pediatrics, DOI: 10.1542/peds.2011-2700
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