In recognition of National Autism Awareness Month, various buildings at Weill Cornell Medical College and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital will be lit blue for the entire month of April.
The first to be lit was the Rogers building on the Westchester campus, the future home of the Institute for Brain Development.
Weill Cornell, NYP and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons are collaborating with the New York Center for Autism to establish the Institute for Brain Development, a comprehensive, state-of-the-art institute dedicated to addressing the pressing clinical needs of individuals living with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disorders of the brain, across their lifespan. It is expected to open in 2012 and will be a resource for community-based providers and families.
The New York Center for Autism, led by Laura Slatkin and Ilene Lainer, and with a generous contribution from Marilyn and James Simons of the Simons Foundation, has provided essential guidance and support in forming the Institute for Brain Development. Additional support for the Institute is provided by Autism Speaks, founded by NYP Trustee Bob Wright and his wife, Suzanne.
In addition to Westchester and Weill Cornell, buildings and areas of NYP/Columbia University Medical Center, Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital and The Allen Hospital will be lit.
The Light It Up Blue campaign, led by Autism Speaks, North America's largest autism science and advocacy organization, is a unique global initiative to celebrate World Autism Awareness Day and help raise funds and awareness of autism as a growing public health crisis.
Autism is a neurological and developmental disorder that usually appears during the first three years of life. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that autism now affects 1 in every 110 American children, including 1 in 70 boys.