Different skillsets are needed for different times, and that is one key reason why my “autism” family is voting for U.S. Senate candidate Becky Edwards over incumbent Sen. Mike Lee.

According to a recent study supported by the University of Utah, the prevalence of autism among 8-year-old children in our state has risen by nearly 30% in less than a decade. That includes my own family, since I am the mother of two wonderful boys, who both happen to be on the autism spectrum.

Neither my husband nor I are autistic. After our first child, a precocious daughter, it never crossed our minds that today we would be a special needs home – an autism family. However, times change, and the statistics for our youngest son’s age group in Utah show that now 1 in every 30 boys has autism.

Sadly, Mike Lee’s legislative record on supporting families like mine is obstruction, inaction, and criticism. During his first year in the U.S. Senate, Mike Lee was one of just 4 senators who held up reauthorizing federal funding for autism research. Fortunately, the funding passed at the last minute.

Next, Mike Lee specifically lists healthcare as one of his top issues. Yet, despite the growing prevalence and urgent need to support autism families in Utah, Mike Lee is not a member of the Autism Caucus in Congress. Instead, Mike Lee continues to actively oppose the Affordable Care Act — despite its mandated penalties being successfully eliminated by Republicans five years ago in the 2017 tax bill.

Two years ago, Mike Lee visited an elementary school in Utah, and used profanity to emphasize his criticism of their initial efforts to prevent the spread of COVID. First, I find it offensive that a U.S. Senator from Utah uses profanity in public. Second, even though Mike Lee subsequently deleted the tweet and apologized, I feel he fostered an even more hostile environment for my immunocompromised children.

Finally, Mike Lee claims to be very concerned about the federal budget and our national debt. Yet, during his nearly 12-year stewardship in the U.S. Senate, our national debt has more than doubled from well under $15 trillion to now well over $30 trillion. No one can call his tenure a fiscal success.

By comparison, Becky Edwards’ legislative record on supporting families like mine is progress, action, and hope. To start, Becky Edwards has 10 years of experience in our own state legislature making decisions as a team on how to prioritize the state budget and best meet our people’s needs.

In 2011, Becky Edwards spoke in our state capitol to encourage the purchase of newly available autism awareness license plates. In 2018, Becky Edwards was a chief sponsor of legislation to amend the Autism License Plate bill, ensuring that those funds are specifically distributed to help individuals with autism.

In 2017, Becky Edwards was the chief sponsor of a resolution designating April 21 each year in Utah as “Autism after 21 Day”. That is the age at which federally mandated services end for many adults on the autism spectrum. In order to highlight the need and increase awareness, the resolution included sharing Utah’s message with the state legislatures of the other 49 states and Utah’s congressional delegation.

Importantly, as a mental health professional with real-world experience in both social work and counseling, Becky Edwards understands how important stable housing is to support many autism families. In 2018, Becky Edwards was the chief sponsor of legislation creating the Utah Commission on Housing Affordability, which proactively helps to provide housing for many families with special needs.

My husband and I are Republicans who own a home, pay taxes, go to church, volunteer in schools — and we are an autism family. If you are not one, then I am certain you have a neighbor or friend who is.

Autism is not going away, and autism families are a growing need in Utah that now require the skillset of Becky Edwards in the US Senate. Please join me in voting for Becky Edwards.

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