Cost–benefit estimates for early intensive behavioral intervention for young children with autism—general model and single state case
✍ Scribed by John W. Jacobson; James A. Mulick; Gina Green
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1998
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 221 KB
- Volume
- 13
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1072-0847
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Clinical research and public policy reviews that have emerged in the past several years now make it possible to estimate the cost±bene®ts of early intervention for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with autism or pervasive development disorderÐnot otherwise speci®ed (PDDÐNOS). Research indicates that with early, intensive intervention based on the principles of applied behavior analysis, substantial numbers of children with autism or PDDÐNOS can attain intellectual, academic, communication, social, and daily living skills within the normal range. Representative costs from Pennsylvania, including costs for educational and adult developmental disability services, are applied in a cost±bene®t model, assuming average participation in early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) for three years between the age of 2 years and school entry. The model applied assumes a range of EIBI eects, with some children ultimately participating in regular education without supports, some in special education, and some in intensive special education. At varying rates of eectiveness and in constant dollars, this model estimates that cost savings range from $187,000 to $203,000 per child for ages 3±22 years, and from $656,000 to $1,082,000 per child for ages 3±55 years. Dierences in initial costs of $33,000 and $50,000 per year for EIBI have a modest impact on cost±bene®t balance, but are greatly outweighed by estimated savings. The analysis indicates that signi®cant cost-aversion or cost-avoidance may be possible with EIBI.