PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release: December 7, 2006

Contact: Rita Shreffler, NAA (Nixa, MO) 417-818-9030 Lori McIlwain, NAA (Cary, NC) 919-468-6455 Wendy Fournier, NAA (Portsmouth, RI) 401-632-7523

Combating Autism Act Passes House of Representatives By Two-Thirds Majority
Advocacy Groups Call Passage a Landmark Event for Investigation of Environmental Factors in Autism

Washington, DC -  The National Autism Association (NAA) and SafeMinds today are calling the passage of the Combating Autism Act an important step forward for the one in 166 children now diagnosed with autism.  The two groups have been involved for the past year and a half with the legislative process to ensure that three main concerns were addressed in the bill:

• Research provisions for investigating the link between environmental factors and the development of autism.

• Greater research oversight from the autism community

• Treatment of those diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders.

In the report language accompanying the bill, Congressman Joe Barton stated, “..the legislation rightfully calls for renewed efforts to study all possible causes of autism—including vaccines and other environmental causes.” Barton also states, “..these provisions will insure continuation and intensification of crucial research at NIEHS so that it is able to conduct all necessary research to determine the environmental factors in autism.”

“For the first time, we now have acknowledgement from the federal government that factors such as mercury from vaccines may play a role in the development of autism,” commented Laura Bono, NAA board member and mother of a son diagnosed with autism and mercury toxicity.  “This is the most promising area of research for our children, and we now have a clear directive that this will be investigated by the National Institutes of Health. Vaccines and their toxic components can no longer be ignored by our government as causative factors in autism.”

The urgency of creating a solid program of environmental investigation has been made particularly clear by Don and Deirdre Imus.  “With the huge rise over the past 18 years in neurological disorders among the children of this country, we can’t responsibly write the numbers off as ‘better diagnosing,’” according to Deirdre Imus, president and founder of the Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology.  “The health outcomes of environmental insults such as the injection of mercury through vaccines must be thoroughly investigated. Clearly, the toll taken upon human health by such toxins is of paramount concern, and must be addressed proactively.”
 
Additionally, the bill expands the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) to include representation from additional members of the autism community in an effort to strengthen research oversight, and addresses treatment options for those affected by autism.  “Rather than merely counting the children diagnosed with autism, we now have government confirmation that autism is a national emergency that can and should be treated,” according to SafeMinds President Lyn Redwood. “This reaffirms our long-standing position that there is hope for all families affected by autism.”

The authorizations included in the bill must now gain funding through the appropriations committee.  While the advocacy organizations expressed disappointment at the elimination of a $45 million earmark to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in the senate version of the bill, they are gearing up to make sure the environmental provisions become a reality through adequate funding to NIEHS as the legislative reports of both the Senate and the House have directed.

For more information, visit:
http://www.nationalautism.org
http://www.safeminds.org
http://www.dienviro.com

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