Has anyone seen my deodorant?

The financial chapter in the More Than a Mom book I am still reading is a great summary of the types of extra expenses we can have as special needs parents. Some examples they provide:

• Special computer programs for learning and entertainment
• Adaptive equipment for physical limitations
• Experimental medication/therapies
• Intensive behavioral programs
• Training conferences for parents
• "Babysitter" who is qualified to care for your child
• Books, videos, conferences to keep up on latest research

The list could go on and on depending on the severity of your child's autism. For example, we bought diapers for five years, until a state program began to provide them for us. It was a tremendous financial relief when we didn't have that particular expense anymore.

Another type of expense is incurred by my daughter's allergy to gluten. Now, GFCG (Gluten free Casein free) diets and all it's various forms are blogs all unto themselves and I have plenty to say about that at a later time. But gluten free items are VERY hard to come by and very expensive, especially when my daughter has food sensory issues on top of that.

A major expense I think this chapter failed to acknowledge is the wear and tear of every day living. Again, no two autistic kids are alike, but in our case our daughter is very de-structive. And I mean to write it like that.....she simply likes to take things apart. Everything. And she can do it very, very quickly. She likes to pile and sort and hide things. Spoons. Tubes of toothpaste. Makeup. The wheels off of toy cars. Chapstick. Loose change. Notebooks. Crayons. Pens.....the list changes from time to time but thinking you know where a hair brush is in the morning when you are already 15 minutes late and then not being able to find a single one (or your shoes, for that matter) is nerve racking enough to make you purchase four of them and then hide them in various places you will hopefully remember. It is an exhausting way to live, but the issue here is the cost of replacing toothbrushes once a week rather than once a month because she collects them and they end up outside, or who knows where. There are many, many household and personal items that find themselves with short lives in our house. And they all have to be replaced somehow.

BTW, locking these things up not only makes life even more challenging, it is almost impossible to keep her out of anything anymore. She is tall, smart and agile.....my expensive face lotion hidden in on the top shelf in my closet won't make it here a week, I bet!