By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

HELENA–The city of Helena is raising awareness and officially made a proclamation at the Monday, April 11, City Council meeting declaring April as Autism Awareness Month.

In addition to the proclamation, the city has also painted the more prominent fire hydrants throughout Helena blue for the month of April to show support.

Helena Councilwoman Leigh Hulsey and her family are personally affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder and she described why the proclamation means so much to her.

“I asked for this to be on here and I do this each year and my family is particularly affected by autism,” said Hulsey. “We know full well that treatment for this is really important in just daily function for my son and for all those affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder. Every year, the number gets higher and higher and how children are being diagnosed with it. Really, there’s been a big push in the Autism community the last year to push for more acceptance of these particular children and families learning to cope with a wide range of difficulties in our lives.”

April is National Autism Awareness Month as well and 25 years ago, the Autism Society launched a nationwide effort to promote autism awareness, inclusion and self-determination for all, and assure that each person with ASD is provided the opportunity to achieve the highest possible quality of life, according to Autism-society.org.

Autism is described as a serious developmental disorder that impairs the ability to communicate and interact with the range and severity of symptoms varying widely.

More that 200,000 cases are seen each year in the U.S.