Abstract:

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with impairments in social ability, social activity, communication, and imagination, and repetitive restricted behavioral patterns. The increase in the global prevalence of autism in recent years has led to an increase in the importance of studies focusing on individuals with autism and their families. Because autism is a developmental disorder that affects not only the individual but also the family and then the immediate environment. Families with autistic children face many difficulties, and perhaps the most important of these difficulties, financial difficulties, are directly related to many difficulties experienced by families. The aim of this study is to understand the experiences of families with children with autism regarding the financial difficulties they face due to diagnosis, treatment, education, therapies and other unaccounted expenses. In this direction, it was designed as a qualitative research with the parents of individuals under the age of 18 who were medically diagnosed with autism. 20 parents and 17 professionals from different professions working in the field of autism participated in the study and in-depth interviews were conducted with them through semi-structured interview forms. The data obtained was analyzed through the MAXQDA 2020 program and explained in a language suitable for the literature and understandable. Families face serious financial difficulties in diagnosis, treatment, education and rehabilitation expenditures. In addition, expenditures related to diet and other health care services wear down families financially.

Keywords: