NBA, Autism Speaks celebrate Autism Awareness Month

NEW YORK -- The NBA has partnered with international organization Autism Speaks in recognition that April is National Autism Awareness Month.

Throughout the month, the league and its teams will raise fan awareness about autism through a variety of events, including:

• In honor of World Autism Awareness Day on April 2, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Lakers will feature in-arena and on-air broadcast messages and distribute educational materials during their respective nationally broadcast home games on ESPN.

• To raise awareness for autism and to further celebrate World Autism Awareness Day, prominent buildings in cities across North America will be lit blue as part of Autism Speaks "Light It Up Blue" campaign. The NBA Store on Fifth Avenue in New York City and Madison Square Garden, home of the New York Knicks, will participate in this campaign along with hundreds of other buildings across the city.

• Several NBA teams will feature special Autism Speaks public service announcements in-arena and during local game broadcasts throughout the month of April.

• On April 14, NBA Commissioner David Stern will co-chair the Tip-Off for a Cure event to benefit Autism Speaks and the Gillen Brewer School at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Event honorees will include leading autism advocates Senator Bill Bradley, Klaus Kleinfeld, and Robert A. Kindler. Several current and former NBA and WNBA players will be in attendance.

Autism Speaks is dedicated to funding global biomedical research into the causes, prevention, treatments, and cure for autism; to raising public awareness about autism and its effects on individuals, families, and society; and to bringing hope to all who deal with the hardships of this disorder. To learn how you can help, please log on to www.AutismSpeaks.org.