LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION memorializing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to
proclaim April 2016 as Autism Awareness Month in the State of New York

WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize official
months that are set aside to increase awareness of serious issues that
affect the lives of citizens of New York State; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and fully in accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to memorial-
ize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim April 2016 as Autism Awareness
Month in the State of New York, in conjunction with National Autism
Awareness Month, and Autism Awareness Day, April 12, 2016; and
WHEREAS, Each April for the past five decades, National Autism Aware-
ness Month has elevated awareness and educated the public about autism
and issues within the autism community; and
WHEREAS, One in 88 children in the United States is affected by
autism, Asperger's or Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise
Specified (PDD-NOS), estimated by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC); and
WHEREAS, In addition to these already staggering statistics, the CDC
reports that one in every 98 African-American children is diagnosed with
autism with a 1.6 year delay in diagnosis when compared to Caucasian
children; and
WHEREAS, Parents tend to overlook the early signs of autism spectrum
disorders, assuming their child is just going through a phase or having
an off day; and
WHEREAS, It is important for parents to differentiate these assump-
tions from the symptoms, which can present in many different forms; and
WHEREAS, Autism is a spectrum disorder, meaning there can be great
variation in the way it affects people; each child on the autism spec-
trum possesses unique abilities, symptoms and challenges, according to
autism expert Dr. Willis Holloway; and
WHEREAS, However, many children on the spectrum often share common
core symptoms which include: impaired social interactions, such as
reluctance to join group activities at school, not being aware of the
needs of others, or inability to understand humor; impaired communi-
cation, such as delay in language development, unusual repetition of
words and phrases spoken by others or on television, or major difficulty
sustaining a conversation; and restricted interests, repetitive behav-
iors, and stereotyped mannerisms, such as clapping, finger flicking,
rocking, dipping, and swaying, fascination with parts of an object or
preoccupation with one narrow interest such as dates or numbers; and
WHEREAS, While medications are available for some common behavioral
symptoms like irritability or anxiety, there are no FDA-approved drugs
to treat any of the core symptoms of these conditions; and
WHEREAS, Autism is a disease with significant unmet patient needs and
is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the
first three years of life and affects a person's ability to communicate
and interact with others; and
WHEREAS, Autism is defined by a certain set of behaviors and is a
spectrum disorder that affects individuals differently and to varying
degrees; and
WHEREAS, There is no known single cause of autism; in March of 2012,
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued their ADDM autism
prevalence report which concluded that the prevalence of autism had
risen to one in every 88 births in the United States and almost one in
54 boys; and

WHEREAS, It is imperative that there be greater public awareness of
this serious health issue, and more must be done to increase activity at
the local, State and national levels; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim April 2016 as Autism
Awareness Month in the State of New York, in conjunction with National
Autism Awareness Month; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New
York.