Senate Resolution No. 2246

BY: Senator HINCHEY

MEMORIALIZING Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim
September 28 - October 4, 2026, as Frontotemporal
Degeneration Awareness Week in the State of New York

WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize
official weeks that are set aside to increase awareness of serious
health conditions that affect the lives of citizens of New York State;
and

WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, it is the sense of this Legislative Body to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim September 28 - October 4,
2026, as Frontotemporal Degeneration Awareness Week in the State of New
York, in conjunction with the observance of World Frontotemporal
Degeneration Awareness Week; and

WHEREAS, Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) is a terminal and
incurable brain disease affecting the frontal and temporal lobes causing
impairments to speech, personality, behavior and motor skills; and

WHEREAS, FTD is one of the most difficult diseases with much
unknown; often affecting people in the prime of their lives and leaving
them with little understanding of how the diagnosis will disrupt their
future, change their relationships with family and friends, and hinder
their ability to continue to live their lives; and

WHEREAS, FTD represents an estimated 10-20 percent of all dementia
cases and is the most common form of dementia for people under the age
of 60; and

WHEREAS, Frontotemporal Degeneration is often misdiagnosed as a
psychiatric problem or other neurodegenerative disease because of the
wide range of cognitive and behavioral symptoms and its young onset; and

WHEREAS, FTD imposes average annual costs associated with care and
living with the disease that are approximately double those of
Alzheimer's disease; and

WHEREAS, Frontotemporal Degeneration often affects a person's
ability to express emotions show affection and empathy for loved ones;
and

WHEREAS, In the behavioral variant of FTD, a person's sense of
social graces and appropriate behavior can be lost, and their
personality may be significantly changed, or they may choose to do
things that would otherwise be entirely out of character; and

WHEREAS, In the language variants of FTD (primary progressive
aphasia), a person may have trouble producing speech and understanding
grammar, lose the meaning of words or become hesitant in their speech
and may eventually become mute; and

WHEREAS, In the movement variants of Frontotemporal Degeneration, a
person may experience muscle weakness, falling, loss of balance,
difficulty making speech, difficulty swallowing, or choking; and

WHEREAS, While there has never been a global epidemiology study of
FTD, it is estimated that between 50,000 and 60,000 people are affected
in the United States today; and

WHEREAS, It is imperative that there be greater awareness of this
serious disease, and more must be done to increase activity at the
local, State and National levels so that we can eradicate this disease
once and for all; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim September 28 - October 4,
2026, as Frontotemporal Degeneration Awareness Week in the State of New
York; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New
York.