The publication is reproduced in full below:
OPENING OF THE JOSEPH H. VICARI SENSORY SPACE
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HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH
of new jersey
in the house of representatives
Friday, October 22, 2021
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, earlier this week in my district in Ocean County, New Jersey, family members, friends, and service providers for children with autism marked the official opening of the Joseph H. Vicari Sensory Space inside the Toms River Branch of the Ocean County Library system.
Like so many worthwhile endeavors across our country, this project had been slowed--but not stopped--by the impact of COVID-19. Originally due to open earlier this year, this Sensory Space is now fully operational and providing a new hub to boost learning experiences for children with autism.
Housed within the heart of the main branch of the county library system, the Joseph H. Vicari Sensory Space has been carefully designed and supplied with special learning tools to help develop the senses, encourage communication and social interactions, relieve stress and anxiety, and promote calmness and well-being in children with autism. The Sensory Space offers a comfortable place and sends a positive message to people with varying degrees of sensory processing abilities who might feel inhibited in social environments.
Having toured the new facility this spring with Ocean County Commissioner Joseph Vicari, Ocean County Library Director Susan Quinn and Ocean County Library Commission Chair Ruthanne Scaturro and several dedicated library officials, I am confident that this space will not only serve those who visit exceptionally well, but will also inspire and serve as a model of how a community can expand learning opportunities and accommodate children on the autism spectrum.
The Sensory Space includes such innovative features as:
A touching wall that uses musical sounds, shapes, numbers and colors for visual and auditory stimulation.
A sensory canopy of billowing, magnetic fabrics that create an impression of clouds overhead.
LED illuminators for aid in color recognition, sensory stimulation and visual attention.
An ocean wave ceiling projector, which combines ambient or customizable audio with colorful light effects to enhance relaxation.
A bubble tube calming device that cycles through hundreds of different shades of color.
An LED light table and colorful jigsaw play box, which illustrates the effects of colors and light on everyday objects and passively enhances creative ability.
A fiber optic color-changing light waterfall, providing tactile stimulation through touch and manipulation, and visual impressions of changing, bending lights.
A colorful mat with matching cubes to build color recognition, stimulate imagination, exercise gross motor skills and develop spatial reasoning.
In addition to County Commissioner Vicari, Library Director Quinn and Library Commission Chairwoman Scaturro, other key individuals who must be credited in the development and completion of the space include: Library Commissioner Susan Hutler; Assistant Library Director Sara Siegler; Facilities Manager Joe Cahill; Assistant Facilities Managers Michael Erickson and Barry DePaul; Toms River Branch Chief Librarian Rachel Lavoie-Dohn; Jackson Branch Librarian Wendi Smolowitz, Chair of the Library's Autism Resources Committee, and Administrative Clerk Kelly Nichols.
Nearly twenty-five years ago, Ocean County residents, Bobbie and Billy Gallagher, parents with two small children with autism, reached out to me looking for help and underscoring the fact that the federal government was doing next to nothing in providing support for research, early education intervention and treatments for children with autism. Armed with data and their own research, the Gallaghers helped me win approval of landmark federal legislation, the ASSURE Act of 2000--to create a comprehensive federal program to combat autism.
Since then, Congress has enacted three additional comprehensive laws I have written to provide significant federal resources for research, education, and early intervention for children with autism. My most recent law, known as the Autism CARES Act of 2019, authorized $1.8 billion through 2024 for research grants, awareness programs, surveillance, early detection and intervention, parental support and training for health care professionals. And for the first time, my new law will expand federal support to adults with autism.
Over the last two decades, the support systems for children and families with autism has grown nationwide, with many community organizations leading the way.
I am deeply grateful for the innovative, local grassroots efforts here in Ocean County--especially and including the Joseph H. Vicari Sensory Space, with its pioneering, state-of-the-art facility that will attract and support individuals with autism and his or her caregivers for many years to come.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 186
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