AUTISM AWARENESS WEEK 17th-24th MAY 2004 (no.2)

That this House supports Autism Awareness Week which aims to increase awareness of this lifelong developmental disability characterised in varying degrees of severity by difficulties forming social relationships, problems with verbal and non-verbal communication and a lack of imagination; notes that it affects more than an estimated 500,000 people in the UK and agrees that there should be further changes to Government policy to improve the diagnosis of, and support for people with autistic spectrum disorders (including Asperger syndrome) and their carers.