BIRMINGHAM, AL - Alabama Gov. Bob Riley will sign a proclamation designating October as Rett Syndrome Awareness Month in Alabama. The Southeastern Rett Syndrome Alliance and representatives from the University of Alabama at Birmingham's (UAB) Rett Syndrome Clinic, part of the Civitan International Research Center, will hold a rally on the Capital steps prior to the signing ceremony on Friday, Sept. 25 at 1:30 p.m.

The governor will sign the proclamation designating October as Rett Syndrome Awareness Month in Alabama at a ceremony in the Capital at 3 p.m., joining seven other states that have made similar declarations. In attendance will be Alan Percy, M.D., a UAB pediatric neurologist and one of the world's leading experts in Rett Syndrome. Joining Percy will be UAB's Rett project manager Jane Land and five local families with a child with the disorder. Percy was among the first physician/scientists to recognize Rett Syndrome and has been involved in clinical care and research from the time the disorder was first identified.

Rett syndrome, a brain disorder affecting development in childhood, has been identified almost exclusively in females. Rett's results in severe movement and communication problems following apparently normal development for the first six months of life. The characteristic features include loss of speech and purposeful hand use, occurrence of repetitive hand movements, abnormal walking, abnormal breathing and slowing in the rate of head growth.