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 4 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 dollars annually to research this disability and hopefully find a cure; and
WHEREAS, The Autism Society of America was founded in 1965 and continues to be the leading source of information and referral of autism and the largest collective voice representing the autism community for 36 years; and
WHEREAS, Working in conjunction with the Autism Society of America, the students and teachers of Saint Bernard School have worked diligently to increase awareness of the disability in their community, utilizing a variety of techniques; now therefore
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby declare April 2002 as Autism Awareness Month in the City of Philadelphia.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to the students and teachers of Saint Bernard’s School as evidence of the respect and appreciation of this legislative body for their hard work in raising awareness of the fight to find a cure for autism.
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