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Richard J.
Dalton Jr., Newsday, March 16, 2008
Sean Beaudoin, 25, has an autism spectrum disorder, but with
help he has become fairly independent.
He has his own car. He works 20 hours a week as a kennel
assistant. He has a credit card in his name, although his mother
keeps it. And he has a good credit rating.
But his parents, Curtis and Paula Beaudoin, recently experienced
the downside of such autonomy for their son, who lives with them
in Nesconset.
Last month, Sean walked into Hustedt Chevrolet in Centereach and
traded in his fully paid 1997 Ford Explorer for a $2,500 credit
toward a 2002 Chevy Malibu with 50,000 miles. He owed $11,400 on
the Malibu.
After Beaudoin's mother discovered the purchase and complained
to the dealership, the manager agreed to lower the total price
to $8,550. That's more than the car's $6,940 retail value in
excellent condition, according to Kelley Blue Book.
Paula Beaudoin said she agreed to the purchase because the
dealership refused to reverse the deal. Hustedt Chevrolet has an
unsatisfactory record with the Better Business Bureau of
Metropolitan New York for failure to respond to complaints.
Edward Reyer, general manager of Hustedt, said Beaudoin seemed
more intent on getting the price lowered than on reversing the
deal. And he said the price had nothing to do with Sean's
condition.
"Anybody can be overcharged," Reyer said. "Forget about autism.
If you come in here and you like a car and you're given a price
-- no matter how much it's marked up -- and you accept a price,
you're accepting the price, no matter who you are."
Sean Beaudoin had "everything we need," Reyer said -- a driver's
license, good credit, a job and car insurance. "He's as normal
as normal can be as far as having the proper stuff."
The young man's parents said his condition, called "pervasive
developmental disorder not otherwise specified," makes him
unable to understand how to engage in a complex financial
transaction, such as a car purchase, and leads him naively to
trust others. Such traits can make him susceptible to sales
pitches as well as to people intent on taking advantage of him.
For instance, Sean Beaudoin told a reporter he didn't need to
research the car's value because the salespeople have a list of
prices to show buyers.
Sean's financial difficulties are common among young adults with
autism spectrum disorders, said Pat Schissel, who runs the
Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism Association, based
in Bethpage. "They want to do what they think a 25-year-old
should be doing," she said. "They will go to buy a car or think
that they can rent an apartment but have no idea about all the
pieces that go into it."
Thousands of children with autism spectrum disorders have
reached adulthood, raising difficult issues as the children
become consumers in a world they don't fully understand.
People with autism typically have a wide range of abilities, but
Sean's independence is beyond the reach of many.
And for those like Sean, who are highly functioning, adulthood
has the potential for newfound financial freedom. That, in turn,
can lead them into contracts.
If autistic adults don't understand the nature of such commerce,
their parents face the prospect of seeking legal guardianship,
taking away the very independence they've dreamed of for their
son or daughter.
A guardian may have the legal right to make medical or financial
decisions on behalf of the person under his care. Just as a
minor cannot sign a contract, neither can a person, even an
adult, whose financial affairs are handled by a guardian.
"A lot of times, that can be a really difficult decision for
parents," said Wendy Fournier, president of the National Autism
Association, in Nixa, Mo.
More and more parents are facing that decision. An estimated 85
percent of the autistic population is younger than 18, and those
diagnosed in the beginning of the wave of autism during the
1990s are reaching adulthood. The number of cases of autistic
children and students served under the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act nearly doubled from 42,417 in 1997 to
79,586 in 2000, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
"I think we're on the precipice here," said Scott Bono, a
Durham, N.C., resident and co-founder and chairman-elect of the
National Autism Association. "At the first autism conference I
went to in the early '90s, there was no discussion of
guardianship. At the last one I went to in November, I had a
number of people talking about this very issue."
Sean Beaudoin and his parents are considering guardianship in
part because last month wasn't the first time Sean went out to
buy a car.
In 2005, he signed a contract to buy one. But when the salesman
called his mother to ask if she would cosign the loan, she
refused. That call led her to believe that, if Sean tried to
make such a purchase again, she would get another call.
But last summer, she came home to find a new pickup truck in the
driveway. Sean had managed to buy it at Auto World USA in
Patchogue, after trading in his Explorer.
Paula Beaudoin called the dealership and explained her son's
condition. Auto World reversed the transaction, and returned the
Explorer to Sean. Paula offered to pay expenses the dealership
incurred, but Auto World USA didn't charge her anything.
The couple considered obtaining guardianship, but a lawyer they
consulted said it would be difficult to show that Sean wasn't
competent to handle his own financial affairs.
In recent years, obtaining guardianship over a particular area,
such as finances, has become more common, said Marianne
Engelman-Lado, general counsel for New York Lawyers for the
Public Interest, a nonprofit civil rights law firm based in
Manhattan.
"The law has tried to reflect a greater understanding of the
capabilities of people with disabilities," she said. "The idea
has been to only give guardianship on those areas over which
someone actually doesn't have capacity."
Bono, the National Autism Association's chairman-elect, said he
and his wife decided to obtain guardianship over their son
before he became 18.
The decision was wrenching, he said.
"While we were protecting his rights for the first 18 years of
his life, we were now faced with retaining guardianship and in a
way withholding his rights," Bono said, "and that was very
emotionally draining." Frank Ramos, general manager of Auto
World USA, said businesses are reluctant to refuse service to
customers they think might have a mental disability, out of
concern the business could face a discrimination lawsuit.
"They've got credit cards," he said. "They have credit scores.
They've had credit in the past. So we're kind of between a rock
and a hard spot."
One advocate for autistic children has faced situations similar
to the Beaudoins'. Linda Fulton, founder and president of the
Fulton Foundation for Autism, said her 23-year-old son Dunlap,
or D.J., has a tremendous ability to memorize numbers,
including, she discovered, her credit card's.
Five years ago, said Fulton, of Huntington Bay, her son called a
Chicago car dealer to buy a Lamborghini. The salesperson told
him he needed a transport company. So he found one online,
giving his mother's credit card number for the $25,000 fee.
Fulton received a phone call to confirm the transaction and
canceled the order.
A few years ago, her son ordered $10,000 worth of model planes,
which were delivered to the house. She returned them but had to
pay delivery and return shipping.
Lately, her son has been pushing to buy the Quiet Supersonic
Transport airplane, the $80-million replacement for the Concorde
that's to be launched in the next decade. He's told his mother
he'd settle for a ride.
"He said, 'It's only $225,000 to be on the first flight,'"
Fulton said. "I don't have to worry about that until 2014."
Sean Beaudoin enjoys his independence. And he's learning more,
as a residential habilitator provides supervision, support and
guidance, helping him with tasks including finances. On the
refrigerator is a note titled "Sean's Finances: How to Calculate
It and Keep Track."
"Write down everything I spend . . .," it says. "How much money
people give me. How much I spend on other things."
But it's not easy, and Sean said he'd be better off with his
parents having guardianship over his financial affairs. "It's a
good thing," he said.
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