Do you know a family member or friend dealing with Autism? Normally when a family finds that their child has autism, they are completely thrown off, having to instantly changed their eating habits, doctors, school, etc.
As you may know, a number of my clients have children or grandchildren who have autism or autism spectrum disorders. One of my clients, Beth Secosky, has seen an amazing reduction in her son's ASD symptoms through the use of diet. Beth has spent years studying the role of diet in autism and other developmental disabilities and has become a motivational health coach helping parents explore whether diet might benefit their child and how the parents might implement dietary changes.
Autism is the fastest growing serious developmental disability in the United States, costing families an average of $60,000.00 annually. While the economic cost is astounding, the more alarming statistics are how common Autism has become. While you are in the middle of taking your child to swim practice, doing laundry, and preparing your family’s meals, planning for the future seems like a far-off project. The thinking is “we don’t know what tomorrow holds-we need to take this day by day”. While such a mindset is understandable, it is important to realize the danger of not planning. As the old saying goes, “we don’t plan to fail; we fail to plan.”
One of the most critical areas of life and estate planning is providing protection for special needs children and beneficiaries. In supporting the needs of children and adults dealing with physical and mental challenges, theU.S.government is pretty good when compared to many other nations. However, the government is also very stringent in making sure that the person receiving support has no other means of support. This often leads to a quandary because parents and other relatives want to provide support in their estate planning documents, but parents know all too well that this well-intended support can quickly lead to a benefits being cut off until all of the inherited money is spent.