Our Funding Priorities

In the coming months, we will be focusing our fundraising efforts on finding support for the following specific initiatives in our broad program areas of research, education, advocacy, and intervention

Research

• Our research program, located at The Children’s Hospital in Denver, aims to define the underlying neurological and physiological mechanisms of Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). Donations will help to support our psychophysiologic laboratory and its personnel, as well as personnel and scholarships for our treatment effectiveness studies. The research program includes hands-on treatment facilities at the hospital as well as ongoing efforts to publish the results of our scientific studies in peer-reviewed medical journals (which also helps with our advocacy efforts, below).

Education

• The SPD Network Web Site and the SPD Resource Directory. The SPD Network, a web site launched by the KID Foundation in 1996, is the primary Internet source for information on Sensory Processing Disorder. It receives an astounding 10,000 hits each week. We recently redesigned and upgraded the site, adding better search capabilities and more information for parents and others. We are continuing to add new content and resources to the site. We also recently launched the SPD Resource Directory on the site. It contains nationwide listings of professionals and community resources that provide services to people with SPD, allowing parents everywhere to find local service providers who have experience in this disorder. Future efforts will focus on publicizing the SPD Resource Directory to parents and encouraging even more health care professionals and others to list their services in the directory.
• Educational Outreach. Teachers and other school personnel often have little or no knowledge about SPD. Consequently, children with SPD are often misunderstood and get labeled as "behavior problems" at school. The KID Foundation plans to hire an educational coordinator who will work with schools in Colorado and will support parents who are advocating for services for their children. Among other things, the educational coordinator will develop materials that will help school staff to 1) identify children at risk for SPD, and 2) incorporate treatment ideas into a child’s daily routine.

Advocacy

• SPD Recognition in Existing Diagnostic Classification Schemes. Many physicians, psychologists, and educators today have little or no knowledge about SPD. A major goal of the KID Foundation is to have SPD listed in the next revisions of the standard diagnostic classification schemes, such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It is our hope that this intensive effort will "legitimize" SPD, helping parents to get an accurate diagnosis of their children’s disorder and appropriate treatment. In addition, we plan to research the intricacies of qualifying children for services, and will publish the results of our study on our web site, so that all parents might benefit.

Intervention

• Treatment Scholarships. Many children with SPD do not receive proper treatment because their insurance will not cover the expense. The KID Foundation offers treatment scholarships for children who participate in our research programs. We would like to greatly expand the number of children we can help with such scholarships.