To: President Donald Trump, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
Sensory Processing Disorder Deserves Medical Society Recognition
With as many as 5-10% of children suffering from the effects of Sensory Processing Disorder but without endorsement from the mainstream medical society it leaves parents without medical coverage for a very real medical condition. Sensory processing disorder effects all the major senses and keeps the effected person from being able to process or organize the sensory input in a proper manner so they can respond to it properly. This interrupts daily life functions like getting a proper education, playing with friends, or even just going to a restaurant for time with the family.
Why is this important?
I am a military spouse and mother of a child who is affected by Sensory Processing Disorder. As a family we struggle with everyday life tasks and we struggle to have her medical expenses covered because her primary care manager does not recognize sensory processing disorder. We struggle to have the school recognize that she is not just a bad child and that there is a real problem since it is difficult to get this placed in her medical record. This has been researched since the 1950's and 1960's and should no longer remain in the dark. Too many children, teens, and adults deal with this daily struggle of overloaded senses.
Our federal law, Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 04), defines a specific learning disability as “a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations.”
While SPD may affect the child’s auditory, visual, and motor skills and his/her ability to process and sequence information, it is not, at present, specifically identified as an eligible, qualifying disability. Thus, it does not necessarily make a child eligible for special education and related services, such as occupational, physical, or speech/language therapy.
Help me spread the message and get health coverage for this disorder.
Our federal law, Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 04), defines a specific learning disability as “a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations.”
While SPD may affect the child’s auditory, visual, and motor skills and his/her ability to process and sequence information, it is not, at present, specifically identified as an eligible, qualifying disability. Thus, it does not necessarily make a child eligible for special education and related services, such as occupational, physical, or speech/language therapy.
Help me spread the message and get health coverage for this disorder.