[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13586]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1630
      RECOGNIZING AUTISTIC ADULTS AND ENCOURAGING AUTISM AWARENESS

  (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, I rise in solidarity with families 
throughout my community in south Florida who have an autistic adult. 
There are many challenges faced by families with autistic adults. 
Regardless of any challenge, however, families are often the strongest 
support unit that an autistic adult will ever know.
  Autism impairs social interactions and communication skills with 
others. Parents of autistic children always worry about the difficult 
transition into adulthood. While some autistic children will grow up to 
function in society, others will need some level of professional help 
throughout their lives.
  As anyone with an autistic family member knows, early detection can 
make a positive difference in managing and understanding this serious 
disorder. We must continue to encourage autism awareness and make every 
effort to fight this devastating disorder by finding a cure through 
better research.

                          ____________________