Understanding The Significant Impact Of Poverty On Autism

A very large percentage of individuals and families who deal with autism also face the problem of financial poverty. This is an important issue given the degree to which poverty effects the neurobehavioral aspects of autism and also access to care and resources. What the present program will address are the issues most relevant to understanding the impact of poverty on autism and also ways professionals can help address those issues. Poverty affects millions of people in this country and its impact is widespread.  According to recent figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, 46.2 million now live below the official poverty line set by the U.S. government.  Individuals who suffer poverty are impacted both by the immediate effects associated with lack of resources and from the longer term effects of poverty as a chronic stressor.  This is a significant issue for people who are not otherwise dealing with the significant impact of other conditions.  But when families are dealing with a member who has autism and are also dealing with poverty the impact is even more significant.  There is a lack of access to healthcare and resources which means that the person cannot get the help they need.  But there also is the impact that autism, a neurological condition, is impacted by the significant and chronic stress associated with poverty.  Plus, families who face poverty often need to focus so much on getting by that their ability to understand autism and what is happening to their family member may be lacking.  This is not from a lack of caring but simply from a lack of time and resources to provide that additional help that their family member with autism needs. 

A lack of understanding in the professional community about how poverty impacts autism has made helping families who face both autism and poverty even more difficult.  This was highlighted in the response to a 2010 study at the University of Wisconsin on the relationship between autism and income levels.  That study revealed that there are actually fewer formally diagnosed cases of autism in lower income families than in higher income families.  Although this initially was presented in the mass media as evidence that wealthier families share a large burden for care of autism (even leading to the headline “Does Poverty Fend Off Autism?” in the September 22, 2010 edition of “AOLNews”) a further review of the research actually showed that this reflected more about the disparity in health care for people in poverty compared to people in higher income brackets.  What has become clearer following that study is that families and individuals who suffer poverty also suffer from a lack of access to quality healthcare which also limits their access to quality diagnoses.  So those families that have an individual with autism may not even know that the person has autism because they cannot get the necessary assessments.  And then they do not have access to the healthcare needed to treat the symptoms of autism or access to transportation to obtain any services or treatments that might be available.

Making matters more complicated, with regards to the impact of poverty on autism, is the circular nature of this relationship.  Poverty significantly impacts on the symptoms of autism and the degree to which symptoms of autism impact individuals and families. But autism can also be a significant contributing factor to individuals and families being in poverty.  Even if autism has not formally been diagnosed; the symptoms often need to be treated.  And that treatment is even more expensive if an accurate diagnosis has not been provided and professionals not extensively trained in autism or even in behavioral healthcare are attempting multiple interventions that are not likely to work.  And even if there is a formal diagnosis of autism the healthcare needed to effectively address the relevant symptoms can be very expensive and not fully covered by medical insurance. And for families who are already close to the poverty line these difficulties can be the final problem that pushes them over the line.

And the complications associated with autism and poverty do not end when the individual with autism becomes an adult.  Difficulties with handling social situations often make work environments difficult for people who have autism.  And lack of understanding of autism often lead to negative behaviors from other people in work settings which makes holding a job and doing well at a job even more difficult.  People with autism often can work and hold down jobs but frequently the problems they face in work environments are just too overwhelming for them to stay.  So they often leave jobs, either on their own or through firings or lay offs, and then lack any financial resources necessary to make their lives better.  This also limits their ability to improve any of the problems that led them to have work-related difficulties in the first place.

What this presentation will address are the ways that educators, social service personnel, healthcare professionals and community advocates can help address the problems that people with autism face when they are also dealing with the impact of poverty.  Covered in this presentation will be a review of specific ways that poverty impacts on the lives of families and individuals dealing with autism.  Also covered will be specific ways that professionals and advocates can help to address these issues and improve the lives of individuals and families who face both autism and poverty.