City of Philadelphia - File #: 060270

• File #: 060270
• Version: 0
• Type: Resolution
• Status: ADOPTED
• File created: 4/6/2006
• In control: CITY COUNCIL
• Final action: 4/6/2006
• Title: Declaring April 2006 as Autism Awareness Month.
• Sponsors: Councilmember Krajewski, Councilmember DiCicco, Councilmember Blackwell, Councilmember Tasco, Councilmember Goode, Council President Verna, Councilmember Rizzo, Councilmember Reynolds Brown, Councilmember Kenney, Councilmember Miller, Councilmember Ramos, Councilmember Nutter, Councilmember Kelly, Councilmember O'Neill, Councilmember Clarke

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result	Tally
4/6/2006	0	CITY COUNCIL	ADOPTED
4/6/2006	0	CITY COUNCIL	READ
4/6/2006	0	CITY COUNCIL	Introduced	Pass

Title
Declaring April 2006 as Autism Awareness Month.
Body
WHEREAS, Autism was first identified by Dr. Leo Kanner in 1943; and

WHEREAS, This disease is now estimated to occur in 1 out of every 500 births, and research further indicates that Autism is four times more prevalent in boys than girls and
knows no racial, ethnic, or social boundaries. Over one half million people in the United States today have Autism or some form of pervasive developmental disorder; and

WHEREAS, The prevalence rate of Autism makes the disease one of the most common developmental disabilities, yet most of the public, and professionals in the medical, educational, and vocational fields are still unaware of how Autism affects people and how they can effectively work with individuals with the disability; and

WHEREAS, With appropriate intervention, many of the associated behaviors can be positively changed, even in some cases, that the child or adult may appear to the untrained person to no longer have autism. The majority of children and adults will, however, continue to exhibit some degree of the disability throughout their entire lives. Although there are still no medical tests for diagnosing autism, and a cure has yet to be found, a better understanding of the disorder has led to a host of strategies to deal with the disability; and

WHEREAS, Under the Childrens Health Act of 2000, the Pediatric Autism Research Act provides an additional $40 million annually to research this disability and hopefully find a cure; and

WHEREAS, Founded in 1995, the Cure Autism Now (CAN) Foundation is an organization of parents, clinicians and leading scientists committed to accelerating the pace of biomedical research in autism through research, education and outreach; and

WHEREAS, Since its founding, Cure Autism Now has committed over $12 million in research, the establishment and ongoing support of the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE), and numerous outreach and awarene...