Remarks by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D.
Senator Bill Frist, wearing an Autism Speaks pin, addresses autism on the floor of the United States Senate
Floor Statement
United States Senate
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
--- Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, each year roughly 24,000 children in the United States are born with an autism spectrum disorder. Over my short lifetime in medicine, the last 30 years, it has been remarkable to see the increase in autism spectrum disorder, a disorder which we don't understand today. We have made progress, but we don't understand it. The symptoms are tragic in many ways. They can be severe, or they have the spectrum from mild to severe. Autistic infants display abnormal reactions to various sensory stimuli, whether it is light or touch or smells, where touches can be experienced as being very painful, smells can be experienced as being very unpleasant. Loud noises and bright lights may cause reactions that involve a range of emotions, including weeping.
As the child grows older, they sometimes avoid cuddling or touching even close family members--again, this is a broad spectrum--many times preferring to stay alone, to play by themselves. By adolescence, these symptoms can become unbearably acute. You can imagine the impact this has on parents who become bewildered. Some lose hope. It is more common than childhood cancer today.
A lot of people don't realize that the incidence and prevalence of this has increased to the point that it surpasses childhood cancer. It can tear apart families--even the strongest families. The reason I bring it to the floor today is, I spent a good part of today talking to various people whose families have been affected. My own family has been affected by it. And as a physician, a doctor, as somebody who has devoted the majority of his adult life not to politics but to healing, I do believe that that combination of physician and legislator gives me certain responsibilities but also certain opportunities to push the frontiers of health, especially when we don't know the cause, the etiology.
That is why 6 years ago I sponsored the Children's Health Act of 2000. That was the first bill that looked at a whole spectrum of childhood diseases, one of which was autism. The legislation directed the National Institutes of Health to expand, to intensify, and to coordinate research into autism--this very complex, very poorly understood disorder. Progress has been made, but now the time has come to reauthorize that legislation.
Under the Children's Health Act, the NIH established the interagency coordinating committee to coordinate all autism-related activities at the Health and Human Services Agency. The committee represents a broad range of interests, including parents, doctors, and researchers engaged with this disease. The NIH also created eight Centers of Excellence in autism research across the country to conduct basic clinical research into the cause, diagnosis, early detection, prevention, control, and treatment of autism. These eight centers have shown and demonstrated true success.
In 2001, NIH spent about $56 million on autism-related research. Three years later, that number went up to $100 million. What is especially remarkable is what the private sector, through philanthropy and organizations, has done in complementing and supplementing those funds. Unfortunately, we still don't know what causes autism, but we know that we must find a cure. It is time for us to reauthorize the autism provisions in the Children's Health Act. I look forward to working with my colleagues to do that. Children are our Nation's most precious resource. We must continue to push for a sustained investment and commitment to curing this heartbreaking disorder.
United States Senate
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
--- Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, each year roughly 24,000 children in the United States are born with an autism spectrum disorder. Over my short lifetime in medicine, the last 30 years, it has been remarkable to see the increase in autism spectrum disorder, a disorder which we don't understand today. We have made progress, but we don't understand it. The symptoms are tragic in many ways. They can be severe, or they have the spectrum from mild to severe. Autistic infants display abnormal reactions to various sensory stimuli, whether it is light or touch or smells, where touches can be experienced as being very painful, smells can be experienced as being very unpleasant. Loud noises and bright lights may cause reactions that involve a range of emotions, including weeping.
As the child grows older, they sometimes avoid cuddling or touching even close family members--again, this is a broad spectrum--many times preferring to stay alone, to play by themselves. By adolescence, these symptoms can become unbearably acute. You can imagine the impact this has on parents who become bewildered. Some lose hope. It is more common than childhood cancer today.
A lot of people don't realize that the incidence and prevalence of this has increased to the point that it surpasses childhood cancer. It can tear apart families--even the strongest families. The reason I bring it to the floor today is, I spent a good part of today talking to various people whose families have been affected. My own family has been affected by it. And as a physician, a doctor, as somebody who has devoted the majority of his adult life not to politics but to healing, I do believe that that combination of physician and legislator gives me certain responsibilities but also certain opportunities to push the frontiers of health, especially when we don't know the cause, the etiology.
That is why 6 years ago I sponsored the Children's Health Act of 2000. That was the first bill that looked at a whole spectrum of childhood diseases, one of which was autism. The legislation directed the National Institutes of Health to expand, to intensify, and to coordinate research into autism--this very complex, very poorly understood disorder. Progress has been made, but now the time has come to reauthorize that legislation.
Under the Children's Health Act, the NIH established the interagency coordinating committee to coordinate all autism-related activities at the Health and Human Services Agency. The committee represents a broad range of interests, including parents, doctors, and researchers engaged with this disease. The NIH also created eight Centers of Excellence in autism research across the country to conduct basic clinical research into the cause, diagnosis, early detection, prevention, control, and treatment of autism. These eight centers have shown and demonstrated true success.
In 2001, NIH spent about $56 million on autism-related research. Three years later, that number went up to $100 million. What is especially remarkable is what the private sector, through philanthropy and organizations, has done in complementing and supplementing those funds. Unfortunately, we still don't know what causes autism, but we know that we must find a cure. It is time for us to reauthorize the autism provisions in the Children's Health Act. I look forward to working with my colleagues to do that. Children are our Nation's most precious resource. We must continue to push for a sustained investment and commitment to curing this heartbreaking disorder.
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