My child has an ASD. He's obsessive and a collector, so I understand that aspect. But he also knows about money, and he is constantly talked through how something makes someone else feel and how he would feel if it were him.
Do you get carer's allowance for all you do? You should.
MrsC my son has to wear expensive clothes because he has sensory issues as part of his autism - it's really common for people on the spectrum. He has problems with sounds, smells, tastes and touch being acutely sensitive. He can't wear a wide range of fabrics, and he often has to tear his clothes off in a hurry because he feels like insects are crawling on his skin. Seams need to be beautifully and carefully sewn, fibres need to be natural and breathable, everything needs to be very soft. (This isn't helped by his also having eczema and being prone to heat rash if the clothes aren't breathable.) He has to have real sheepskin boots, expensive socks so the seams and heels etc don't rub, good shoes that fit well, soft cottons against his skin. He won't even wear cashmere in terms of wool, because of the itch - I used to buy second hand Brora to wear over cotton, but he can't cope with inadvertantly brushing against it now. It's a real problem. I'm the least extravagant person and happily buy Primark pants for the rest of us and Ebay finds are my favourite for his toys etc, but clothing is expensive. As is dentistry (sensory issues make for problematic visits and he needs a paediatric one). He needs special chew necklaces as well, as chewing helps him screen out the overwhelming stimulus in tricky situations, and they are not cheap either, especially when your child is only 6, goes through them really pretty quickly, and at school things will inevitably be lost sometimes, or disappeared by other covetous kids now and then (he's not bullied at his current school, but they are nice looking and the kids are small, and magpie instincts only human in little people). We save money on cinemas, though - even ear defenders can't make that okay for him due to sensory overload. But it doesn't compensate for the other ways he needs additional items. In my son's case, too, Lego is what this guy's guitars are - a place he can disappear in his mind and recover from how overwhelming he finds the world, through creativity and inner worlds he can completely control. Thank God for Ebay there, as well.
DLA is paid because being disabled is expensive. We don't get it now because DS is now doing so well he's not seen as in need of it, which was brilliant news (never been so delighted to realise we weren't entitled to money anymore; try hearing your five year old plan his own suicide because he hates life so much; losing some cash because he's now happy is a privilege and a joy) but disability costs heavily. There's no doubt of that. It costs in many ways, and on many levels, and financially is just one.
I don't think people unfamiliar with disability really understand the reality of it. It's understandable, but please remember that what seems simple from an able world is often less so in a disabled one.