[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 21405]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                       FINDING A CURE FOR AUTISM

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, the pictures that you see here, Mr. 
Speaker, are of Bonnie and Willis Flick, who were able to go trick-or-
treating last night, but only as a result of hard work. Bonnie and 
Willis dressed up as wizards; but it was really their mother, Patience, 
who was the true Wizard of Oz in making this night special for them.
  You see, Bonnie and Willis have autism, a neurological disorder that 
affects the development of the brain, especially in the areas of social 
interaction and communications skills. Autism impacts half a million 
people in our Nation; and in my home State, 50 percent of autistic 
children reside within our community.
  Autism manifests itself in different ways. Bonnie can read, but 
Willis is mostly non-verbal and is only able to tell his mother, with 
whom he has a strong bond, when he is hungry or sleepy or sick. Others 
would not understand Willis.
  Life through the eyes of an autistic child may be a puzzle; but 
autistic children, as this T-shirt says, are part of our world, not a 
world apart.
  I congratulate the National Alliance for Autism Research for hosting 
Walk FAR for NAAR this Saturday in Key Biscayne. With continued 
support, we will soon find a cure for autism and the much-needed help 
for Bonnie and Willis Flick.

                          ____________________