Title
Recognizing April 2022 as
Autism Acceptance & Awareness Month in the City of Philadelphia, and commending the creators of the
Autism 365 Collection at the Wynnefield Library.
Body
WHEREAS, April is National
Autism Acceptance and Awareness Month, a time to educate our community about
autism, also known as
Autism Spectrum Disorder ("ASD"), a complex neurological condition that affects, in varying degrees, language and social skill development, characterized by challenges in communication and social interactions, repetitive behaviors and movement, impacting individuals of all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds; and
WHEREAS, The 2014 Pennsylvania Census Report identified over 4,167 individuals in Philadelphia County with
autism receiving services - more than double the previously documented number - the majority of whom are between the ages of 5 and 17 years old, with the number of adults over 21 years old increasing as the population ages; and
WHEREAS, According to estimates from the
Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring ("ADDM") Network of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ("CDC"), 1 in 54 children have been identified with ASD, yet another indicator that this intellectual disability is, if not increasingly frequent, more likely to be diagnosed; and
WHEREAS, Whatever the cause, this uptick in diagnoses means that more individuals with
autism, as well as their loved ones and caregivers are showing up at community institutions like neighborhood libraries, often in search of resources and programming; and
WHEREAS, In response to the growing need that they were seeing, Ethel Funches and Mary Kachline of the Wynnefield Library, a branch in the Free Library of Philadelphia system, created the
Autism 365 Collection - its name reflecting the fact that
autism doesn't only occur thirty days a year; and
WHEREAS, Ethel and Mary thoughtfully curated a multimedia collection of materials of interest to adults and children on the spe...
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