Category: Blog Posts

CNN Medical Supervising Producer, Caleb Hellerman recently wrote about the Harvard School of Public Health report that estimates conservatively that the dollar cost of an autism diagnosis is more than $17,000 a year through age 17. $8,610 of that amount is what the educational system is picking up annually.

Children with autism (ASD) require different forms of Special Ed services. Some need one-on-one attention from a teacher, others can be placed in a small group setting, while others can be fully integrated into a classroom.

In the year 2000, there were federal grants for special Ed totaling $5 billion. In the year 2005 it went up to $12 billion. Since then the amount has been dropping, as can be seen from the fact that in 2013 the Special Education Personnel Preparation program only received $84 million in federal funding.

Michael Ganz, Assistant Professor of Society, Human Development, and Health at Harvard School of Public Health, released the following information about the direct and indirect cost of Autism in 2006: “The Direct costs of Autism include direct medical costs, such as physician and outpatient services, prescription medication, and behavioral therapies (estimated to cost, on average, more than $29,000 per person per year) and direct non-medical costs, such as special education, camps, and child care (estimated to annually cost more than $38,000 for those with lower levels of disability and more than $43,000 for those with higher levels).

Indirect costs equal the value of lost productivity resulting from a person having autism, for example, the difference in potential income between someone with autism and someone without, and the value of lost productivity for an autistic person’s parents due to reduced work hours or not working altogether. The estimated annual indirect costs for autistic individuals and their parents range from more than $39,000 to nearly $130,000.”

The financial cost of autism is hard to pin down. Some say that autism costs a family $60,000 annually. Whatever the amount, it’s costing all of us not to do all we can to research, diagnose and treat this disorder. Early behavioral training can save society a great deal of money. And doesn’t every child deserve the best care we can give them? Many children who begin treatment before turning three improve to the point where they are able to thrive right alongside their fellow classmates.

Please join me on Twitter and share your thoughts as we continue the discussion on the cost of Autism to families, school districts, and taxpayers. Please use #autism and @KathyMarshack in your comments so I see them.

Interestingly, a recent article in The New York Times by Laura Pappano reports that more institutes of higher learning are teaching creativity as a marketable skill for industries such as business, education, digital media, humanities, engineering, science, nursing, justice and safety.

She quotes Gerard J. Puccio, chairman of the International Center for Studies in Creativity at Buffalo State College, “The reality is that to survive in a fast-changing world you need to be creative.” He heads the nation’s oldest creative studies program that has been offered since 1967.

Dr. Puccio developed a four-step system that he and partners market as FourSight and sell to schools, businesses and individuals. His steps are clarifying (ask the right question), ideating (brainstorming without listening to the inner naysayer), developing (trying out your solution until you find one that works) and implementing (convincing others your idea has value).

She also talks about Dr. Burnett’s Introduction to Creative Studies survey course, where students can enhance their own creativity by rephrasing problems as questions, learning not to instinctively shoot down a new idea but look for three positives first, and categorizing whether a problem needs action, planning or invention.

No doubt you can see commonalities between these approaches. Creativity requires open, positively thinking outside the box. Being willing to accept change. Feeling safe and confident in the way you perceive yourself. Having a willingness to fail and try again. Sounds like a recipe for success if you’re in therapy!

In fact, I tell my clients – especially entrepreneurs – that if you have a good idea, sometimes you just need to run with it. It may or may not work, but allowing your creative juices to flow will only enhance your entrepreneurial abilities. With practice and time you can improve your creativity skills and, who knows, a failed creative thought or idea may not work for a particular situation at present, but it may for another one down the line.

What do you think? How important is creativity in your career? Join me on Facebook – I’d like to hear your thoughts on this and other subjects.

The cost of treatment for Autism is a huge financial burden for families. The Harvard School of Public Health estimates conservatively that the dollar cost of an autism diagnosis is more than $17,000 a year through age 17. Medical costs make up less than 20% of that amount.

Are the benefits of these laws being rolled over into the Obama Affordable Care Act?

I was happy to read The New York Times’ report about recent studies that are confirming this. A team at Ryerson University in Toronto found that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for insomnia resolved the insomnia for 87 percent of the patients within four treatment sessions.

The bonus to this treatment of insomnia is that these patients also had their depression symptoms disappear, almost twice the rate of those whose insomnia was not cured.

Another study from Stanford University gives us similar hope. The patients all suffered from insomnia plus depression, and they were all taking an antidepressant pill. Sixty percent of those given seven sessions of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for insomnia in addition to the pill recovered fully from their depression, compared with only 33 percent in a control group that got the standard advice for treating sleeplessness.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy grew out of a need for solving problems that more traditional therapies couldn’t. Depression, for example, can take months of therapy, so many people resort to anti-depressant medication for more immediate relief. Now that we see the link between insomnia and depression we can use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to teach people to establish and stick to a regular wake-up time, avoid daytime napping, spend less time in bed, and reserve bed only for sleeping – not watching TV, snacking or reading.

As the studies above reveal, this treatment may not take very many sessions, but the results are spectacular. NET practitioners like myself have known for some time that the mind/body must be treated in a holistic manner. If you think insomnia is playing a role in your depression and you want to get to the root of your health problems, perhaps it’s time to look into Cognitive Behavior Therapy. If you are looking for a holistic approach to your mental health issues, contact my office in Portland, Oregon or Vancouver, Washington, and set up an appointment.

Do you have questions about how therapy works? See my FAQ page for the answers.

When a child doesn’t learn the real value of money, as an adult they will struggle with money problems, which may escalate into relationship problems. Either they’ll undervalue it and squander it, thinking they can just ask for more. Or they’ll go to the other extreme of attaching too much importance to it sacrificing their own health or relationships for it.

A healthy view of money sees money as a means of exchanging what you have for what you want or need. To get money, you expend resources, such as time, accumulated knowledge and energy, to earn it. How can you instill good financial habits in children? What money values do you want your children to live by? An article written by a financial advisor, Wayne Von Borstel, made me think about this topic today. He had some very good advice.

First and foremost parents teach by example. Your children will copy your attitude toward money and the way you handle it. This is especially true if you run a family-owned business. 

You can discuss with your partner these questions to determine what model you’re giving to your children:

Do I argue over money with my spouse? Do we have a budget? Do we spend beyond our means, wracking up huge credit card debt? Do we make monthly deposits to a savings account? Do we make charitable donations? Do we keep funds especially earmarked for emergencies that can’t be dipped into for any reason? Do we save money for a vacation as a family? Have we set up a college fund for our children? Do we require our children to contribute toward any of these?

Helping your children see the real value of money also involves actively participating in making and spending money. When they earn the money they spend, they’ll make the connection that the amount available is limited by the time and effort put into earning it. This contributes toward creating a good work ethic. And as you guide them in how to spend money wisely, perhaps entrusting them with a specific amount for buying school clothes, or saving a portion in a savings account or college fund, they learn good financial habits.

What do you do when you want to train your children in money management, but your spouse has different ideas? Are you searching for conflict resolution techniques that really solve the issues over money in your family? If so, then contact my Portland, OR/Vancouver, WA office and set up an appointment.

If you’re an entrepreneuerial couple I address parenting and financial disagreements in my book, Entrepreneurial Couples: Making It Work at Work and at Home. You can also read Wayne Von Borstel’s entire article, 8 Ways to Maximize a Child’s Financial Potential, here.