Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum Awareness

There are a number of brain disorders, however there is one that gets very little attention and too few people know about it or understand it. This disorder is called Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum (ACC). With this disorder, a person is born with their Corpus Callosum missing, either partially or even completely. The Corpus Callosum is a bundle of nerves in the brain that connects and sends messages between the two sides of the brain. "Corpus" means a body or structure while "callosum" means a bridge. "Agenesis" means without development. Someone without this part of the brain tends to be slower with reaction rates and in school subjects, etc. It's hard for people with ACC to do some normal every day things and in fact, they have many of the same symptoms as someone with dyspraxia and even autism. In addition to these symptoms, most people with ACC suffer from frequent seizures and severe headaches. ACC is a little known condition and many people diagnosed with this disorder don't even know they have it until later in life, while others are severely disabled.
Through the organization ACCA (ACC Awareness), we hope to do three things. First is to support those with ACC as well as family and friends of people with ACC - adults and children alike. Second, we hope to raise overall awareness of the disorder, and third, we hope to help educate people on what ACC is so they will not only know about it, but so that people will be more accepting to those who suffer from this condition. Although some people with this condition can function somewhat normally, they still have plenty of symptoms to deal with and some people suffer more so than others, just like with most conditions and disorders we hear about. Currently we just have a website (http://sites.google.com/site/accawareness/ ) and a MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/accawareness ) to assist us in accomplishing these goals, but it is not enough. We need the help of others and feel the best way to spread awareness of this disorder is to get media attention, especially in the form of news and various talk shows.
This petition is a step in that direction. There are more people than just the few leaders of ACCA that want to get the word out about ACC. We wanted to form a way for all of us to come together to express the need for more awareness of this disorder. With this petition we hope to accomplish the following:


1. Increase general awareness-

Making people aware of the disorder
Further educating those who have the disorder
Bridging the gap between those that have the disorder and those that are unaware that it exists.

2. Gain specific media attention-

Radio shows- any and all that hear about ACC & ACCA.
Newspapers and Magazines- any and all that are interested in learning more and supporting the cause of ACC & ACCA
Talk Shows- Any and all interested in supporting and learning about the cause but we would specifically appreciate the involvement of the following talk shows:
o The Ellen DeGeneres Show
o The Bonnie Hunt Show
o Oprah
o FOX News Channel
o The Today Show
o CBS Television Network
o The Tyra Banks Show
o "Live with Regis and Kelly"
o The Maury Show
o Rachael Ray

Please join us in this endeavor to further the cause of ACC Awareness by signing this petition encouraging the above to offer us a forum: