4.01.2008 - 08:00am ET

(CSRwire) ANAHEIM, CA – April 1, 2008 - April is Autism Awareness Month, with April 2 designated in a 2007 UN resolution as World Autism Awareness Day. Across the globe, the autism community is celebrating its members and holding special events to raise awareness and money for research to help the tens of millions of individuals worldwide affected by autism and its spectrum of disorders. This month, Ecommerce fundraising site nonprofitshoppingmall.com offers an introduction to this growing global health crisis and its premier advocacy organization, Autism Speaks. In its interview with actor John Schneider, whose roles span from television's Dukes of Hazzard to Broadway's musical hit, CHICAGO, Schneider offers insights to his personal experience with autism and talks about his greatest role, as a father with an autistic son.

Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that typically lasts throughout a person's lifetime. It is part of a group of disorders known as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Today, 1 in 150 individuals is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. A random disorder, autism crosses all racial, ethnic, and social boundaries equally and is four times more likely to strike boys than girls. Autism impairs a person's ability to communicate and relate to others. It is also associated with rigid routines and repetitive behaviors, such as obsessively arranging objects or following very specific routines. Symptoms can range from very mild to quite severe.

Nonprofitshoppingmall.com allows consumers to shop online for the things they would normally buy, from the brands they would normally choose, at the prices they would normally pay. The added benefit is that when a consumer purchases items through nonprofitshoppingmall.com they also make a contribution to Autism Speaks through the month of April.

Nonprofitshoppingmall.com site visitors can choose from over 200 brand-name retailers featuring clothing and accessories, home and garden decor, travel deals, health and beauty products, pet supplies, action sports gear and more. Retailers include Target, Amazon, Macys, Urban Outfitters, Aeropostale, Staples, PetCo and many others, including a wide range of green and eco-friendly merchants.

At Autism Speaks, their mission is to change the future for all who struggle with autism spectrum disorders -- help support their goal by shopping through nonprofitshoppingmall.com while turning everyday shopping into everyday giving – everyday.

About nonprofitshoppingmall.com –

Nonprofitshoppingmall.com (www.nonprofitshoppingmall.com) allows consumers to shop online for the things they would normally buy, from the brands they would normally choose, at the prices they would normally pay. Shoppers make a donation to charitable organizations with just one click, giving rise to a powerful yet subtle fundraising tool. Nonprofitshoppingmall.com, an E-commerce site where shopping is good for you and everyone else.

About Autism Speaks --

Autism Speaks (www.autismspeaks.org) seeks to change the future for all who struggle with autism spectrum disorders through 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 and are committed to raising the funds necessary to support these goals.

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April is Autism Awareness Month, with April 2 designated in a 2007 UN resolution as World Autism Awareness Day. Across the globe, the autism community is celebrating its members and holding special events to raise awareness and money for research to help the tens of millions of individuals worldwide affected by autism and its spectrum of disorders. This month, Ecommerce fundraising site nonprofitshoppingmall.com offers an introduction to this growing global health crisis and its premier advocacy organization, Autism Speaks. In its interview with actor John Schneider, whose roles span from television’s Dukes of Hazzard to Broadway’s musical hit, CHICAGO, Schneider offers insights to his personal experience with autism and talks about his greatest role, as a father with an autistic son.

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