Can Your Child's Private School Tuition Be Tax Deductible?

Getting the diagnosis of autism in your child is one of the most devastating moments in any parent's life. With 1 in 166 children diagnosed with some form of autism in the United States, there are millions of parents across the country already grappling with this issue, and more and more parents learn that their child has autism each and every day.

The term "autism" encompasses everything from Asperger Syndrome, a light version of autism in which the child has above-average verbal abilities but still has the social and behavioral difficulties that are standard parts of autism, to classical autism, in which the child is barely verbal or non-verbal, exhibits flapping, spinning, or other physical "stims" or behavioral markers, and has marked social and communication problems.

Each child with autism has a unique set of issues related to his or her disability. For some children with Asperger Syndrome, giftedness is an issue; how do parents meet the academic needs of an intellectually gifted third grader, for instance, who has the social skills of a three or four year old, but the volcabulary and reading ability of a college student? And then there are children with more "middle of the road" autism, who are two or three years behind in verbal abilities, who become physically aggressive and tantrum when frustrated, or who have occupational therapy needs because of muscular or coordination problems.

Now add education to the mix.

How can educators in public schools meet the demands of each and every child with different autism diagnoses? Some public schools develop wonderful programs for kids with autism diagnoses; a combination of a personal aide, speech-language pathologist sessions, occupational therapy sessions, and academic accommodations can make a world of difference for kids. But then there are other schools that lack the money to provide so many services to one child, or schools that try to apply a "cookie cutter" approach to all children with autism, ignoring the individual needs each child has.