One Child In Every Classroom In The United States. Those numbers are staggering. And yet, Sensory Processing Disorder is still widely unknown to the general public. Progress continues to be made. Thanks in large part to the information available on the internet, parents are finding more help than they were even just five years ago, but clearly, there is more work to be done.

Think about that for a moment. One In Twenty Children. It is someone you know. At the end of the day, what will you say that you did to help these kids? In Washington State, they ARE doing something! 17 year old Jordyn Brown, a senior at Eastlake High School in Sammamish, Washington conceptualized and organized a Community Awareness Event featuring a local celebrity softball tournament to benefit Sensory Processing Disorder (“SPD”), which is a disorder her 13 year old cousin was diagnosed with 7 years ago. This was the first Community Awareness event and fundraiser of its kind in the Evergreen state and proceeds will benefit The SPD Foundation, a 501(c) 3 charity that is dedicated to SPD research. This was a grassroots effort in its purest form. Why take on such an ambitious effort? Jordyn put it best: "When I realized that sharing what my family has learned over the years could benefit other families dealing with this disorder I knew I had the right project. We just have to get the information out into our communities!"

To learn more about this effort check out their MySpace page, by clicking here You can also visit their Tournament Website online by clicking here. The success of the event prompted organizers to agree to a second fundraiser in 2009. Details will be available on the MySpace page. Everybody thinks about changing the world. This 17 year old decided to actually do it. We think that is pretty spectacular.

So what can you do? Tell everyone you know! It's time to talk to your child's doctors, teachers, principals, school nurses and therapists. It's time to raise awareness. It's time for everyone to Come To Their Senses!

Are YOU a parent raising a child with SPD? Are you looking for support in your state? Check out the SPD Listservs on Yahoo! The goal of the listservs is to provide a safe place for parents and caregivers to meet, network and share their experiences raising a child with SPD and to make sure they have access to the most current information on Sensory Processing Disorder and to help take the guesswork out of those late night “Google” searches that you may be doing. Be part of an effort to build communities in each state! http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/SPD(your state here)

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One family. One Child. One Story: The Parent/Alumni testimonial presented at the 4th Annual CHILD at Heart Fundraising Luncheon on February 6, 2007 in Bellevue, Washington is here! Watch as one mother describes her family's journey, and hear her then-12-year-old daughter talk about coping with Sensory Processing Disorder. See it now by clicking here

For more information about CHILD, visit them online by clicking here