[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6334]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              RECOGNIZING NATIONAL AUTISM AWARENESS MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Indiana (Mr. Messer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MESSER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor National Autism 
Awareness Month.
  Modern science has helped control or eliminate many once deadly and 
debilitating diseases and conditions, but our understanding of autism 
remains an unsolved puzzle.
  More children than ever are being diagnosed with communication and 
behavioral disorders that lead to a diagnosis of autism. Autism now 
affects one in every 68 children, according to the CDC. My nephew Trey 
is one of them.
  I have seen firsthand how autism strains families, stretches their 
resources, and makes life more challenging in many ways. I have also 
seen the amazing joy that an autistic child can bring to a family. Trey 
has sure brought a lot of joy to ours.
  Families with autistic children do everything they can to help their 
kids maximize their God-given abilities, whatever they choose to be; 
but it is not always easy, especially in a world where many don't 
understand the unique challenges that autism presents.
  Helping these families better navigate this treacherous world would 
make a huge difference for my brother and his family and millions like 
them, but doing so would be much more than just helpful to those 
families.
  It would be good policy too. That is because autism imposes 
tremendous costs on families, many of which are shared by the schools 
their children attend and the many medical and developmental 
specialists involved in their care.
  Studies have found that it can cost parents up to $21,000 a year to 
care for a child with autism, more than it requires for one without. 
Children with autism have annual medical expenditures that exceed those 
without autism by up to $6,000 a year.
  The average medical cost for Medicaid-enrolled children with autism 
are about six times higher than for children without autism. In 
addition to medical costs, intensive behavioral interventions for 
children with autism can cost $40,000 to $60,000 per child, per year.
  There are several steps that Congress can take right now to help ease 
these burdens for families. The House should pass H.R. 647, the 
Achieving a Better Life Experience, or ABLE, Act, which is legislation 
I have cosponsored, to allow for the creation of tax-exempt savings 
accounts for individuals with disabilities.
  Congress also must reauthorize the Combating Autism Act, which 
expires in September. This vital legislation provides Federal support 
for critical autism research, services, and treatment.
  Mr. Speaker, I have often said that autism is the polio of our time, 
and together, as a Nation, we can beat this challenging disease.
  Families struggling with autism face challenges that many of us can't 
imagine. They neither need nor want our pity, but they deserve our 
help.
  National Autism Awareness Month, which ends tomorrow, should serve as 
a call to action for us to address the urgent and long-term needs of 
people affected by autism and, hopefully, one day, piece together the 
autism puzzle, so as few children as possible are impacted by this 
disorder.

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