mr. bilirakis, for five minutes. mr. bilirakis: i rise in support of autism awareness month. april is autism awareness month, and today is april 2, autism awareness day. autism is serious, mr. speaker. it does not discriminate. people in all racial, social economic -- socioeconomic and ethnic groups are impacted. one in 68 children are diagnosed with autism. let me say it again. one in 68 children. it this is a very disturbing statistic. mr. speaker, florida has a lot of great programs and resources for individuals with autism. the centers for autism and related disabilities, or cards, all across the state of florida, will be offering resources and awareness month activities. the partnership for effective programs for students with autism pairs teachers and students to assist students with autism. this program's motto is to provide quality educational programs to students with autism spectrum disorders. it is through the graciousness and generosity of organizations like these and the individuals involved with them that help in the fight against autism. it is important to rais

mr. bilirakis, for five minutes. mr. bilirakis: i rise in support of autism awareness month.is autism awareness month, and today is april 2 autism awareness day. autism is serious, mr. speaker. it does not discriminate. people in all racial, social economic -- socioeconomic and ethnic groups are impacted. one in 68 children are diagnosed with autism. let me say it again. one in 68 children. it this

mr. bilirakis from florida, you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you very much for holding thisy important hearing, and i wanted to specifically thank ms. scurry for really speaking out. i really appreciate it. makes so much of a difference, and thanks for your sacrifice. you're going to make a real difference in kids' lives. i also want to ask, i wanted to get back to the protective gear, the helmets, what have you. and how does the youth, and we can ask all of you, how does the youth helmet, the protective gear compare as far as safety, quality to the nfl and nhl? i mean, can you give me an opinion on that? >> so certainly no expert on exactly how that compares. i mean, my understanding is there, obviously, nfl is the standard bearer and, certainly, all the hell melts have to pass that standard, and i think the manufacturer would say they go above and beyond that. how it compares to an nfl helmet, generally speaking the youth helmet is lighter, but the padding and so southern -- so forth is appropriate. i don't know the exact details. i know it's sufficient based on standards