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Lindamood-Bell to Help Commemorate Autism Awareness Day

San Luis Obispo, CA (Vocus) -- Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes, an internationally recognized leader in literacy research, remediation, and professional development, will help raise awareness for autism by participating in the “Light It Up Blue” campaign beginning April 1st, 2010.

All 43 Lindamood-Bell Learning Centers throughout the nation will be decorated in blue with displays about autism beginning Thursday evening, April 1st. The displays will include facts about autism and will be seen in every storefront window and carried over to Lindamood-Bell’s online outreach efforts. Additionally, all Lindamood-Bell employees will wear blue on Friday, April 2nd to help raise awareness for autism and to commemorate World Autism Awareness Day in collaboration with Autism Speaks.

“We are pleased to participate in this event to help bring autism awareness to the forefront and show that we support research efforts to bring an end to this epidemic,” says Nanci Bell, Director and Co-Founder of Lindamood-Bell. “We see so many students that are diagnosed with autism and have found great success in helping to improve their language and literacy skills. It is life-changing and so important that our entire world helps these individuals and understands their struggles.”

Autism Speaks, the world's largest autism science and advocacy organization, launched its inaugural Light It Up Blue campaign – a unique global initiative to help raise awareness and shine a bright light on autism as a growing public health crisis in support of World Autism Awareness Day on April 2 and Autism Awareness Month. Iconic landmarks around the globe – including the Empire State Building in New York City and Willis Tower in Chicago along with the CN Tower in Toronto and Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia – as well as airports, bridges, museums, concert halls, restaurants, and retail stores, are among more than 100 structures in over 16 U.S. cities and nine countries around the world that will light up in bright blue on the evening of April 1 – the first night of Autism Awareness Month and the eve of World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD).

World Autism Awareness Day shines a bright light on autism as a growing global health crisis. WAAD activities help to increase and develop world knowledge of the autism epidemic and impart information regarding the importance of early diagnosis and early intervention. Additionally, WAAD celebrates the unique talents and skills of persons with autism and is a day when individuals with autism are warmly welcomed and embraced in community events around the globe.

Autism is a complex brain disorder that inhibits a person's ability to communicate and develop social relationships, and is often accompanied by behavioral challenges. Autism spectrum disorders are diagnosed in one in 110 children in the United States, with boys at a rate of 1 in 70. The prevalence of autism has increased tenfold in the last decade. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have called autism a national public health crisis whose cause and cure remain unknown.

Autism affects approximately 67 million people worldwide. Autism does not discriminate by geography, class, or ethnicity and there is no medical detection or cure for autism. Compared to other disabilities, Autism is the fastest growing developmental disability in the U.S.

To find out how you can take part in Autism Awareness Day, and to find events in your area, visit the World Autism Awareness Day Website at www.worldautismawarenessday.org.

To find a local Lindamood-Bell Learning Center in your area, and for more information about Lindamood-Bell, visit www.lindamoodbell.com.

About Autism Speaks

Autism Speaks is the nation's largest autism science and advocacy organization, dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism; increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders; and advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families. Autism Speaks funds more than $30 million each year in new autism research, in addition to supporting the Autism Treatment Network, Autism Genetic Resource Exchange, Autism Clinical Trials Network, Autism Tissue Program and a range of other scientific and medical programs. Notable awareness initiatives include the establishment of the annual United Nations-sanctioned World Autism Awareness Day on April 2 and an award-winning, multi-year national public service advertising campaign with the Ad Council. Autism Speaks' family services efforts include the Autism Video Glossary, a 100 Day Kit for newly-diagnosed families, a School Community Tool Kit and the distribution of community grants to local service providers. Its government relations division has played a critical role in securing federal legislation to advance the federal government's response to autism, and has successfully advocated for insurance reform to require insurers to cover medically-necessary autism therapies. Each year, Autism Speaks Walk Now for Autism fundraising events are held in more than 70 cities across the country, as well as Canada and the United Kingdom.

About Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes

Lindamood-Bell is an internationally recognized leader in the research and development of programs for language and literacy development. Their Learning Centers specialize in one-to-one instruction based on the individual’s learning needs; through diagnostic evaluation, specific strengths and weaknesses can be identified and remediated. Lindamood-Bell also collaborates with hundreds of schools to provide innovative instructional programs, professional development, and consulting. Lindamood-Bell has received national recognition from CNN, Newsweek, Time, US News and World Report and the neuroscience journal Neuron, along with being featured on the PBS special The Secret Life of the Brain. More information on Lindamood-Bell is available online at www.lindamoodbell.com.

Contact: Steve Rossi, Director of Marketing (805) 541-3836

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