The immeasurable cost of "the parent tax"
💵 💵 💵 It's more than just dollars for special education families
There are “real” taxes. The kind the IRS looks at. They have Federal rules and regulations regarding line items, qualifying categories, and percentages. That sort of thing.
Then there are the fees parents pay just for being parents. By some estimates, the costs associated with the caretaking of a human from birth to 17 today are now over $310,000.
Photo by Daiga Ellaby on Unsplash
The latter is the realm where “the parent tax” lives. As far as public education is concerned, if you add dyslexia to the mix (or any learning difference really) that parent tax grows far, far bigger.
FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education) is supposed to be FREE. But there are undeniable costs on the journey of supporting the educational needs of neurodiverse children. Public schools are, in theory, supposed to provide many of the services I will discuss below that are specific to dyslexia. But if you look at America’s abysmal literacy rates, something is amiss — students are either not getting the right support, not enough support, support is not provided with integrity, or it’s a mix of all three. That’s why countless families find themselves supplementing.
Photo by The New York Public Library on Unsplash
Here are some of the frequent supports and some approximate costs associated with a child with dyslexia. Note: I am in New England. The cost of living here is on the higher end.
Evaluations:
Private neuropsych eval: $4000-$6000
Private Speech & Language eval: $3000
Private consultant school observation and report: $2000-$4000
TBD others depending on the child’s profile. Note that private is different than school testing, but there are a number of reasons and factors why outside evaluations make sense.
Direct Student Support:
Orton Gillingham tutor: $60-90/hr, 2-4x a week(!)
Speech & Language tutor: $125-150/hr
Executive Functioning coach: $125-150/hr
Therapist and caregiver coaching $150-300/hr (though, this one might be covered by insurance.)
Special-Education Process Support for Caregivers:
Special education advocate $90-125/hr
Special education lawyer $200+/hr
Private Language-Based Program:
$50,000-$80,000 + transportation, annually (If a family can swing it, this approach does allow a child to get support immediately and embedded into their school day.)
But what happens if you can afford few, if any, of the associated costs of the above?
There is also a price. In ways, that price can be even greater.
Alternative costs:
An inability to read is traumatic
Students are bullied, teased, and would rather be sent to the Principal than read aloud
The school dropout rate is at least twice the national average
High rates of addiction, self-harm, and 3x higher risk of attempting suicide
High prevalence in prison populations
Higher unemployment and lower lifetime earnings
In other words due to our insufficient systems: either a family pays (large sums of money) to advocate and/or supplement — or a family may pay (via their child’s academic wellness and well-being).
It’s an ugly truth. A heavy truth.
In affluent areas, countless families pay out of pocket to fill in systemic gaps. In underprivileged areas, the gaps are more likely to remain.
“Equity” may be an important school community buzzword — but if all children are not being explicitly taught to read with evidence-based instruction — equitable education is not happening.
Literacy is a civil right. A fundamental one. In the information age, it is even more essential.
Parents should not have to pay such a steep price.
Our children should not have to pay such a steep price.
Invest in opportunitiy.
Invest in change.
Invest in schools and the implementation of evidence-based instruction.
This is excellent! I'd add, in my experience, giving up my career to homeschool my dyslexic kids which has cost us financial security, retirement security, personal career loss, social security income. Not even sure it is possible to calculate.