Declaring April 2005 as Autism Awareness Month.

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 Children’s Health Act of 2000, the Pediatric Autism Research Act provides 40 million dollars annually to research this disability and hopefully find a cure; and

WHEREAS, Founded in 2001, the Philadelphia Chapter of 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, the Philadelphia Chapter of Cure Autism Now has raised over $1 million to help fund Autism research, become a local resource for Autism topics and services and increasing Autism awareness within our communities; and

WHEREAS, Every fall, the Philadelphia Chapter of Cure Autism Now organizes and sponsors the WALK NOW Philadelphia, an event that attracts thousands of participants in a walk-a-thon to raise funds for Autism research; now therefore

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby declare April 2005 as Autism Awareness Month in the City of Philadelphia.

FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to

The Philadelphia Chapter of Cure Autism Now as evidence of the respect and appreciation of this legislative body for the work they do in their fight to find a cure for Autism.

End