Political Quotes

“I rise today to join my colleagues and to thank my colleagues...to recognize April 2010 as National Autism Awareness Month. As you may know, last December the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report on the prevalence of autism. This report concluded that autism affects an estimated one out of every 110 children in the United States, including one in 70 boys. This means that autism is more common than childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes, and pediatric AIDS combined. In addition to being one of the most common disorders that affect our children, autism is believed to cost more than $90 billion a year to treat. Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare released its Pennsylvania Autism Census, which conducted a county-by-county census on the number of individuals suffering from autism. The total number of individuals with autism in the Commonwealth is estimated to be over 25,000, including 3,500 adults with the disorder. Despite the prevalence of autism and its impact on individuals, families, and our Nation's health care system, there is still much to be learned about how best to diagnose and treat this disorder.”