Care requirements of children with autism

Parents of autistic children have been found to suffer from emotional and p hysical problems including depression or states of exhaustion. Within the " Long-term Care Insurancec"* program in the FRG it is possible to offer some relief to such families since autistic children are entitled to insurance coverage under this plan. Ideally child treatment and family intervention m easures would thus be facilitated. Examining a sample of 10 autistic boys f rom age 4 to 9 we attempted to answer the following two questions: 1) Which of the 3 levels of care would the boys be assigned re, on the basis of the ir required care in the areas of personal hygiene, mobility and nutrition a nd 2) which specific behavior problems of autistic children require additio nal attention beyond the fulfilment of basic needs. It became clear that 1) autistic children need much more support, training and monitoring in the a reas of personal hygiene, mobility and nutrition than healthy peers and tha t 2) autistic children require additional care beyond the areas of personal hygiene, mobility and nutrition due to their specific pathology: in partic ular special attention must be given to prevent harming of the self and oth ers. Unfortunately, this is not a part of Long-term Care Insurance policy.