Bill Text: NY J00152 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Memorializing Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim April 2023, as Autism Awareness Month in the State of New York

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-01-10 - ADOPTED [J00152 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-J00152-Introduced.html

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Senate Resolution No. 152

BY: Senator PARKER

        MEMORIALIZING  Governor  Kathy  Hochul to proclaim
        April 2023, 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
memorialize  Governor  Kathy  Hochul  to  proclaim April 2023, as Autism
Awareness Month in the State of New York, in conjunction  with  National
Autism  Awareness Month, and World Autism Awareness Day, Saturday, April
2, 2023; and

  WHEREAS, Each April for  the  past  five  decades,  National  Autism
Awareness  Month  has  elevated  awareness and educated the public about
autism and issues within the autism community; and

  WHEREAS, One in 68 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
assumptions 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
spectrum  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
communication, 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 behaviors, 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 68 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  Kathy  Hochul  to  proclaim April 2023, as Autism
Awareness Month in the State of New York; and be it further

  RESOLVED, That a copy of this  Resolution,  suitably  engrossed,  be
transmitted  to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New
York.