SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 1193
WHEREAS, autism is a complex developmental disability that continues to soar at an alarming rate; and
WHEREAS, it is estimated that more than 1.5 million Americans live with some sort of autism, including more than 100,000 children served under the Individual Disability Education Act; and
WHEREAS, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education recently identified 2,801 children between the ages of 3 and 21 as autistic, which represents an increase of 850 percent from 294 children in 1991; and
WHEREAS, the actual number of autistic children in Missouri is unknown because some children diagnosed by medical authorities as autistic are not recognized as such by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the only government-sanctioned census of autistic children in the state; and
WHEREAS, the frequency of autism spectrum disorders now surpasses that of all types of cancer combined and yet so little is known about the actual cause of the disorder; and
WHEREAS, autism knows no racial, ethnic, social, economic, or educational boundaries; and
WHEREAS, April is National Autism Awareness Month:
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the members of the Missouri Senate, Ninety-Third General Assembly, First Regular Session, hereby designate the 27th day of April, 2005, as "Autism Awareness Day" and the month of April as "Autism Awareness Month" in the State of Missouri.