As a parent, I shouldn’t have to be a chemist to navigate the ingredients of the products I buy every day for my family. Any one of us should be able to buy personal care products, furniture, toys and cleaning products and feel confident that those items do not contain dangerous chemicals that would put children at risk.

But my family knows better than to assume we are safe from toxic chemicals.

My youngest son, who began kindergarten last fall, has autism. Sadly, we are not alone in this struggle. Autism is the fastest growing developmental disability. A recent Centers for Disease Control study estimates that one out of 88 children are diagnosed in the autism spectrum. In Maine, one in 67 children are affected by autism.

Raising a child with autism brings tremendous daily challenges, from managing family routines to advocating for appropriate educational services.

In my quest for information on parenting a child with autism, I am finding that researchers are looking more and more at the link between exposure to environmental toxins and the rising rates of autism.

Although I will never know what caused my son’s autism, there is reason to believe that chemicals in the environment affected my son’s health. During my entire pregnancy, I was residing on a military base in California’s San Janquin Valley. I was exposed to chemicals in jet fuel and from toxic chemicals sprayed on abutting cotton fields. The smell of chemicals was constant in our housing.

The journey of autism has taught me the importance of a clean and healthy environment. I do not want to add to the health challenges my son experiences so I am cautious to avoid products that could contain toxic chemicals, but I cannot do this alone.

The truth is, most chemicals have never been tested for health and safety, and many companies will not tell the public what chemicals they use in their products. Our children are exposed every day to chemicals from their toys, shampoos, to the chemicals lining the cans of the food we feed them, and to the cleaning products we use in our homes.

As parents, we cannot shop our way out of this problem. Our children’s health depends on safer chemicals in everyday products and we need action now to ensure that happens.

The federal law (the Toxics Substances Control Act or TSCA) that regulates chemicals is 35 years old and is outdated and ineffective. That law is not protecting the health of our families and results in preventable health and economic costs to parents, school districts, employers and taxpayers.

I am not alone in calling for reform of TSCA. Many health and disability organizations, including the Autism Society of America, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Nurses Association, and the Learning Disabilities Association, have been advocating for reform for several years.

I want to thank Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe for the public statements they issued last fall on the need to reform TSCA. Now they can put their beliefs into action by co-sponsoring the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 — legislation that is currently being considered by the Environment and Public Works Committee in the U.S. Senate.

The Safe Chemicals Act would require the chemical industry to provide information on the safety of chemicals they manufacture and it would immediately reduce exposure to the worst-of-the-worst chemicals. It would protect vulnerable populations such as pregnant women, babies and young children, and it would reward innovating companies for developing safer chemicals.

In true Maine tradition, the Safe Chemicals Act is a common-sense, science-based solution to the toll toxic chemicals are taking on our children’s health. It is a bill Sens. Snowe and Collins could be proud to support, and it will make a huge difference in the lives of families in Maine and across the nation.

Maine parents shouldn’t need degrees in chemistry to keep their children safe. Instead, we need heroes in the U.S. Senate. I call on Sens. Snowe and Collins to be our heroes by supporting the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011.

Erica Harris of Gray is a mother of two sons. She is a member of the Learning Disabilities Association of Maine.