Declaring April 2007 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 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 dollars 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 awareness activities aimed at families, physicians, governmental officials and the general public; now therefore

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby declare April 2007 as Autism Awareness Month in the City of Philadelphia.

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

Megan Shovsky, 4th grade teacher of students afflicted with Autism at Saint George School, as evidence of the respect and appreciation of this legislative body.

End