Most people cannot imagine the challenges autism poses to families caring for someone afflicted with the developmental disorder.

But when those challenges are exacerbated by unscrupulous individuals and companies, people need to take notice and not be shy about projecting their disgust and calls for remedial legal action and stiff penalties, criminal as well as civil.

Those who would try to take advantage of the families in question — and, in the process, the victims of the disorder themselves — don’t deserve any leniency in any court of law.

Meanwhile, there should be no reluctance to suspend or revoke professional licenses of those preying on others’ difficulties and misfortune, either solely on behalf of themselves or for the benefit of an employer, ignoring their responsibility to provide the kind of help and care that their position and license mandate.

But now autism therapy billing abuse seems to be rampant, and not enough apparently is being done to curb it.

That needs to change, sooner rather than later.

Serious questions need to be asked about how and why the situation was allowed to evolve. Knowing the identities of individuals who were part of the “cast of characters” responsible for what has evolved would be helpful also.

The Wall Street Journal, in its June 2 edition, focused on the autism therapy billing abuse currently in play, and the picture “painted” isn’t pretty. “Maddening” is a more apropos description.

The Journal said “the autism-therapy industry, once a tiny corner of pediatric care, has exploded into a multibillion-dollar business, fueled by rising diagnoses, new providers entering the market and laws requiring insurers to cover more services. It has also attracted predatory providers who bill for phantom services, pad hours and charge steep fees for care delivered by low-wage workers with minimal training.

“The billing abuses run wide. Aetna said the number of investigations that found likely fraud or abusive billing by autism-therapy providers in its private-plan business shot up by 300% between 2024 and 2025 — and is on track to rise by another 50% this year.”

Aetna said the issues detected by its probes include poor documentation, billing for multiple services for the same hour and claiming to provide care at home addresses that don’t exist.

Bills reviewed by the Journal revealed a daily charge for one child reaching more than $30,000. Then there was the case in which a family was billed $911,400 by a provider who promised immediate treatment and no out-of-pocket costs.

The head of financial investigations at Highmark told the Journal that suspicious billings to his company from out-of-network autism therapy providers “is in the multimillion dollars at this point.”

He urged Highmark customers who receive questionable bills to get in touch with the company. That same bit of advice should be delivered throughout the industry.

As explained by the Journal, applied behavior analysis — autism therapy — is commonly given to young children. Sessions of ABA can include practicing chores, practicing social interactions and improving communication.

Autism, which usually appears by age 3, is characterized by impairment of the ability to form normal social relationships, impairment of the ability to communicate with others, and by stereotyped behavior patterns.

Federal and state laws require coverage of autism care. However, federal and state laws need to become more aggressive against unconscionable billing practices associated with that needed care.