Well it is not really a news flash more the blinding obvious.

A report yesterday on the UK’s BBC web site announced “The economic cost of supporting someone with autism over a lifetime is much higher than previously thought, research suggests. It amounts to £1.5m in the UK and $2.4m in the US for individuals with the highest needs, say UK and US experts.”

Without wishing to sound rude to me, at least, as the parent of a child on the autistic spectrum it is not really news.

Indeed I suspect that the figure is much higher when you consider other ways we have had to change our lifestyles. For example where we live and what hours we can work.

The report from Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics also highlights how little is actually spend on autism research. In particular how little is spent on effective interventions. You can read up more here.

So what do you think? Do these figures sound reasonable? And I’d really like to kick off a conversation on how we should be spending money earmarked for autism research?

Have your say in the comment box below!

Thanks in advance.