One of the leading autism groups in the world will honor Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04)—the author of key enacted laws to combat autism and co-Chairman of the Congressional Coalition on Autism Research and Education (C.A.R.E.)—at a event tonight sponsored by Autism Speaks in the nation’s capital.

    “The toll of autism in terms of its impact on the life of a child and a family is tremendous,” said Smith, author of the Combating Autism Reauthorization Act, Public Law 112-32, signed into law in September 2011.  “We must seek ways for early diagnosis, effective treatment and even hope for a cure someday. There is so much more work to do, but I am especially honored to receive this recognition during National Autism Month.”

    Smith’s landmark legislation enacted in 2000—the Autism Statistics, Surveillance, Research and Epidemiology Act (Title I, P.L. 106-310) created the first comprehensive federal program to combat autism. In 2011, another piece of legislation he authored, The Combating Autism Reauthorization Act (CARA),” now Public Law 112-32, was enacted and will provide $693 million to continue federal programs through 2014.

    The event will be hosted by the Embassy of Sweden at its House of Sweden complex, and is sponsored by the Autism Speaks National Capital Area organization and its Autism Speaks to Young Professionals (AS2YP) Committee. AS2YP will recognize Smith as a “Congressional Autism Hero” for his work on fighting the disability.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2012 released alarming data showing that one in every 88 American children and one in every 49 New Jersey children has a form of autism, affecting five times more boys than girls.  Earlier this year a new CDC survey  suggested an even higher national rate of one in 50 autism prevalence rate, heightening the need for a national strategy to address the epidemic.

    Also staggering are the estimated financial costs of the disability— $126 billion per year in the U.S.–-a number that has more than tripled since 2006. In the U.S., the cost of providing care for each person with autism affected by intellectual disability through his or her lifespan is $2.3 million.

    “The federal government must work to explore and identify the factors that cause autism and seek out the best ways to diagnose autistic children as early as possible. The earlier interventional care can start, the better for the quality of life for a child,” said Smith, who also authored the provision in Title I of the Children’s Health Act (PL 106-310) which created the Centers of Excellence in Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disabilities at the CDC. “Families who live with autism have pinned their hopes on research and new treatments.”

    Smith’s law, CARA, signed on September 30, 2011, authorized for each of the next three fiscal years: $22 million for the Developmental Disabilities Surveillance and Research Program; $48 million for Autism Education, Early Detection, and Intervention, and $161 million for hundreds of research grants at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and for the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee.