Miller & Steiert was recently proud to be a part of the Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation (SPD) “Tournament of Hope.” SPD is a neurological disorder that disrupts the way an individual processes and responds to sensory signals, including smell, movement, touch, taste, sight, hearing, and balance. This disorder is different from ADHD, ADD, Autism, and other brain disorders of which you may be more familiar. In many cases, persons with those disorders also suffer from sensory processing disorder. A person with SPD often has difficulty performing everyday tasks. Motor clumsiness, behavioral problems, anxiety, depression, school failure, and other impacts may result if the disorder is not treated effectively. Whether you are eating, riding a bike or reading a book, your successful completion of the activity requires processing sensory information.
SPD affects the daily activities and relationships of more than 1 out of 20 children and adults. At the SPD Foundation, we are the only organization in the world 100% committed to doing research to determine what is happening in the brain that causes SPD, particularly in children, and how best to treat it. Children with SPD can be devastatingly impacted by the disorder. They may get overwhelmed by the sounds, light and bombardment of sensory information, resulting in what appears to be inappropriate behaviors. They have frequent “melt downs” when overwhelmed, they have tantrums, they get in trouble, and may be expelled from school. We have examples of children only 8 or 9 years old who have changed schools multiple times because of their “bad behavior”. One child told us that if everyone thinks I’m bad, I may as well be. They have trouble making friends so often they are isolated, or are considered weird by their peers.
The SPD Foundation is also committed to an education program for professionals and parents, offering many conferences, workshops, and mentorships for Occupational Therapists who learn effective therapy models to treat this disorder. Treatment is provided by our sister organization, The STAR Center, and is therapy-based, without the use of medication. Parents, trapped by the fear that their child will have a meltdown in the grocery store or restaurant, learn strategies to cope with the oncoming barrage that their child may experience. Every parent of a child with SPD knows what it is like to be judged as a bad parent when out in public.
SPD impairs the quality of life for the child and the entire family.
For more information please visit our web site: www.spdfoundation.net.
Tournament of Hope Photos
Walter Kelly and Ben Currier (third and fourth from left) and friends playing golf in support of SPD Foundation’s first annual “Tournament of Hope”
Gary Clexton (second from left) and friends playing golf in support of SPD Foundation’s first annual “Tournament of Hope”.
Katy Miller presenting at SPD Foundation’s first annual “Tournament of Hope”
