Deal with Autism – Planning College for Autism
|Don’t Blow Your Budget Because Your Child Has a Disorder
From the diagnosis stage, you can deal with autism and financially plan a budget for not only college for autism, but your own secure financial retirement.
One of the most common reactions to finding out your child has a disorder like Autism is to say “Oh My Gosh” and then run to buy everything that your baby could need.
Stop! This is the wrong reaction and can cause you financial damage for life.
Your child has survived this long without a ton of special products. If you go crazy and buy thousands of dollars after being told he or she has a disorder, you won’t have enough money for things like:
- Therapy needed later in life,
- College tuition, or
- financial help on for a wedding, new home, etc.
Just because your child has a disorder doesn’t mean you have to change the entire world around you. Try these simple recommendations so you can plan ahead and be able to support your child and yourself throughout both of your lives.
1. Purchase what is needed to help, but don’t go overboard.
Visit the autism store run by National Autism Resources. They will also tell you not to blow your budget. You will find their site discusses issues, disorders, and solutions (in addition to items you can buy). They also provide you with thousands of free and affordable resources from experts.
For example:
If sleep and tactile disorders are your issue, they’ll steer you away from buying a $3,500 swing system and instead, help you find a crash pad or weighted product that will fit within your budget.
or
For noise sensitivity, try noise reducing earmuffs for $20 instead of sound proofing your child’s room (which can cost thousands of dollars).
Your best bet is to find out what is causing a current issues and what can help your child get through it. Honest stores like to help people, and will teach you that there is almost always a budget friendly solution to the issue at hand.
2. Meet with a financial analyst to plan your future.
Perhaps you’ve already created a path to retirement with your financial planner, but now to deal with autism, you might reach out to them again and readjust your path. Discuss ideas like:
- Your child will probably need special care, therapy, and depending on the disorder, hospital visits or even surgeries and medical devices,
- How your insurance company might react; what the increase in premium or deductions might be,
- What you might need to withdraw from your savings each year for your child,
- How you will need to modify small or sometimes large objects in your house,
- Possible adjustments in your budgets and savings plans for medical devices that your child may need, and
- College opportunities
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By meeting with your financial planner early enough, instead of realizing it when you reach your 40’s or 50’s, you may be able to redirect your path, alter your budgets, and find a way to still be able to retire close to “on time” while being able to provide for, support, and help your child for the rest of his or her life.
A good plan will deal with autism and plan for college without disregarding the parents’ safe secure retirement.
This is one of the things that some parents forget about or don’t realize until it is too late. At that point, retirement has become something the parent’s won’t be able to do until much later in life and then, they may not be able to even enjoy it. A financial planner can go even further to help parents create a special trust for their autistic child so that when the parents pass away, the child will still be taken care of.
3. When You Deal with Autism — Take a Deep Breath.
When your child is diagnosed with Autism, the most important thing you can do is remain calm and realize your child is the same child as before. Knowledge is your new advantage. You now have a tool to help — because you know what could be causing things such as tantrums, social issues, or a lack of ability to play sports. You might prevent situations from getting worse or at least know what to expect and prepare to handle them. Taking a deep breath and calming down will help you to relax and know that finding this information out now is better than later, because now you can be prepared.
The most important thing to do when your child is diagnosed with Autism is take a deep breath and don’t start buying everything you see. Instead research what your child actually needs and find a store you can trust to recommend products within your budget. By doing this and not spending all of your savings in the first couple of years, you’ll be able to support your child throughout their life — possibly even with college expenses, and have the ability to enjoy your retirement at a reasonable age.
How do you deal with autism? What tips do you have to plan ahead financially for college and retirement? ~ share in the comments below 🙂
KidsAndMoneyToday
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