BILL NUMBER: SCR 40	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER  55
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  JUNE 4, 2015
	ADOPTED IN SENATE  MAY 7, 2015
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 2, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Leyva
   (Coauthors: Senators Allen, Beall, Block, De León, Fuller,
Galgiani, Hall, Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Jackson,
Lara, Leno, Liu, McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Pavley,
Roth, Wieckowski, and Wolk)

                        APRIL 9, 2015

   Relative to Better Hearing and Speech Month.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SCR 40, Leyva. Better Hearing and Speech Month.
   This measure would recognize May 2015 as Better Hearing and Speech
Month.



   WHEREAS, Each May, Better Hearing and Speech Month provides an
opportunity to raise awareness about communication disorders; and
   WHEREAS, An estimated 40 million Americans have some type of
communication disorder, costing the United States approximately $154
to $186 billion annually due to lost work productivity, special
education, and medical treatment; and
   WHEREAS, Eight percent of children under six years of age across
the nation have speech and language disorders and one in five
children 12 to 19, inclusive, years of age has hearing loss. By the
first grade, approximately 5 percent of children have speech or
language disorders; and
   WHEREAS, Thirty-six million American adults report some degree of
hearing loss; and
   WHEREAS, Early identification and treatment can enhance the
acquisition of functional communication skills; and
   WHEREAS, Engaging parents, educators, and community leaders is of
great importance to raise awareness and support those with
communication disorders; and
   WHEREAS, In summary, the field of speech-language pathology and
audiology focuses on the development of all parameters of
communication, including swallowing across the age span, and
addresses the disruption of this development through habilitation,
rehabilitation, and access in various settings; now, therefore, be it

   Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature recognizes the month of May
2015 as Better Hearing and Speech Month, and that the residents of
the State of California are encouraged to join together in raising
awareness and heightening public knowledge of communication
disorders; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.