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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION |
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| INTRODUCED BY MOUL, ADOLPH, BAKER, BARRAR, BEYER, BISHOP, BOBACK, BRENNAN, BROWN, BURNS, CALTAGIRONE, CAUSER, CLYMER, COHEN, CONKLIN, D. COSTA, CREIGHTON, DELOZIER, DeLUCA, DENLINGER, DePASQUALE, DiGIROLAMO, DONATUCCI, FAIRCHILD, FLECK, FRANKEL, GEIST, GEORGE, GIBBONS, GILLESPIE, GINGRICH, GOODMAN, GROVE, GRUCELA, HARHAI, HELM, HENNESSEY, HESS, HICKERNELL, HUTCHINSON, KAUFFMAN, KORTZ, KOTIK, KULA, MAJOR, MANN, MARKOSEK, MARSICO, McCALL, MELIO, MICOZZIE, MILLARD, MUSTIO, OBERLANDER, M. O'BRIEN, O'NEILL, PALLONE, PARKER, PASHINSKI, PAYNE, PETRI, PHILLIPS, PICKETT, QUINN, RAPP, READSHAW, REICHLEY, ROEBUCK, ROHRER, ROSS, SAINATO, SANTONI, SCAVELLO, SIPTROTH, K. SMITH, SONNEY, STABACK, SWANGER, VEREB, VULAKOVICH, WALKO, WANSACZ AND YOUNGBLOOD, MARCH 23, 2009 |
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| INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35, MARCH 23, 2009 |
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| A RESOLUTION |
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1 | Recognizing May 15 through June 15, 2009, as "Tourette Syndrome |
2 | Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania. |
3 | WHEREAS, An estimated 200,000 people in the United States and |
4 | more than 3,000 citizens of this Commonwealth have been |
5 | diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome, a neurobiological, genetic |
6 | condition which has no cure; and |
7 | WHEREAS, Tourette Syndrome is a developmental disability that |
8 | begins before a child reaches 18 years of age and affects |
9 | children and adults of all races and ethnicities; and |
10 | WHEREAS, Individuals with Tourette Syndrome are affected by |
11 | tics and involuntary, rapid, sudden movements or vocalizations |
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1 | that occur repeatedly; and |
2 | WHEREAS, Individuals with Tourette Syndrome must learn to |
3 | cope with these sudden movements or vocalizations that occur |
4 | thousands of times a day, every day; and |
5 | WHEREAS, Individuals with Tourette Syndrome face periodic |
6 | changes in the nature and severity of their tics, as these |
7 | symptoms wax and wane and change without forewarning; and |
8 | WHEREAS, Individuals with Tourette Syndrome frequently have |
9 | co-occurring conditions that further complicate their care and |
10 | diagnosis, including attention deficit disorder, attention |
11 | deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, |
12 | mood disorders, learning disabilities, handwriting difficulties, |
13 | executive function disorder and sensory processing disorder; and |
14 | WHEREAS, Individuals with Tourette Syndrome are frequently |
15 | misunderstood by their families, the community and even by the |
16 | medical profession due to their seemingly controllable behavior |
17 | and variety of symptoms; and |
18 | WHEREAS, Tourette Syndrome is misunderstood and thought to be |
19 | a condition of emotional disturbance instead of chemical |
20 | biology; and |
21 | WHEREAS, Individuals with Tourette Syndrome are often |
22 | ostracized by the general public and children are disciplined |
23 | for various manifestations of their disability by educators who |
24 | do not understand that the child is not in control of his |
25 | actions and may be delayed in his maturity and emotional |
26 | responses; and |
27 | WHEREAS, Individuals with Tourette Syndrome face |
28 | discrimination from educators, friends, family, employers, |
29 | coworkers and the judicial system while dealing with their |
30 | unpredictable disorder and uncertain future; and |
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1 | WHEREAS, Schools are required to make accommodations to |
2 | support their students with Tourette Syndrome to be successful |
3 | in their education program, however, many schools often resist |
4 | or limit services for a number of reasons, but most commonly due |
5 | to the full complexity of the disorder being misclassified as |
6 | behavioral or emotional; and |
7 | WHEREAS, Individuals with Tourette Syndrome are often very |
8 | intelligent and capable of great contributions to society when |
9 | given the proper support; and |
10 | WHEREAS, Employers are required under the Americans with |
11 | Disabilities Act (ADA) to disregard disability in hiring or |
12 | promotions and to make accommodations to support their employees |
13 | with Tourette Syndrome so the employees can be successful in the |
14 | workplace and not be forced to file for disability; and |
15 | WHEREAS, The employer can benefit from that success, however, |
16 | employers often neglect to hire, promote and make these |
17 | accommodations for individuals with Tourette Syndrome; and |
18 | WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Tourette Syndrome Association, |
19 | Inc., has joined together with the National Tourette Syndrome |
20 | Association, Inc., to promote awareness and support improved |
21 | education, diagnosis, research and treatment; and |
22 | WHEREAS, Understanding this illness will help guarantee hope |
23 | for acceptance and a better future for people with Tourette |
24 | Syndrome; therefore be it |
25 | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize the |
26 | needs of these individuals with neurological impairment and |
27 | recognize May 15 through June 15, 2009, as "Tourette Syndrome |
28 | Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania and urge all citizens to |
29 | support the search for a cure and to assist those individuals |
30 | and families who deal with this neurobiological syndrome every |
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1 | day of their lives. |
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