Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation

The Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation is a United States nonprofit organization associated with the STAR Institute, formerly known as the KID Foundation and the Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation. It operates as a registered 501(c)(3) organization and focuses on sensory processing and sensory integration through three connected areas: clinical treatment, scientific research, and professional and public education. The organization traces its origins to 1979, when it was founded by occupational therapist and researcher Lucy Jane Miller. Its early work was supported by the U.S. Public Health Service's Maternal and Child Health division. The organization developed around the study of sensory integration and processing differences, particularly their effects on children's development, participation, and everyday functioning. Over time, its scope expanded to include adolescents and adults as well as children. A significant turning point came in 1995, when the Wallace Research Foundation began supporting the organization's research program. That support helped establish a psychophysiology research laboratory and enabled a sustained interdisciplinary research effort. From 1995 through 2017, a university-based research group led by the organization worked with approximately 50 scientists across neuroscience, epidemiology, genetics, intervention research, and neuropathology. The work sought to clarify the neurological foundations of sensory processing differences and evaluate the effectiveness of sensory integration interventions. The organization has also pursued broader recognition of sensory processing disorder as a distinct clinical and public-health concern. For many years, one of its principal advocacy objectives was the inclusion of sensory processing disorder in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The organization describes sensory processing disorder as a condition involving differences in sensory integration and processing that can interfere with functional participation in daily life. This advocacy and research agenda has helped position the organization as a specialist institution within the sensory health and developmental-disability fields, although the diagnostic status and classification of sensory processing disorder remain matters of professional and scientific debate. Under the STAR Institute identity, the organization operates a center in Colorado. Its treatment department uses the STAR Frame of Reference and provides therapeutic support across the lifespan. Services include dedicated programs for children, adolescents, and adults, as well as a specialist feeding team. Its Research Center investigates neurological mechanisms associated with sensory processing and examines treatment effectiveness for different populations; findings are intended to inform both clinical practice and educational programming. Lucy Jane Miller retired in October 2019. Since that month, Virginia Spielmann has served as executive director. The organization therefore represents both a long-running research foundation and an operating clinical and educational center. Its principal constituency includes people with sensory processing challenges, families, clinicians, educators, researchers, and other professionals seeking information or intervention approaches related to sensory integration and processing.

The organization began in 1979 under the leadership of Lucy Jane Miller, a researcher and occupational therapist whose work centered on sensory integration and processing. At its inception, the foundation received support from the U.S. Public Health Service's Maternal and Child Health division. Its initial mission developed around improving understanding of sensory processing differences and their effects on development and daily participation. In 1995, the Wallace Research Foundation became an important supporter. Its funding contributed to the creation of a psychophysiology research laboratory, allowing the organization to investigate sensory processing through interdisciplinary scientific methods. Between 1995 and 2017, the organization's research initiative was conducted with a university-based interdisciplinary group involving roughly 50 scientists. Contributors represented fields including neuroscience, epidemiology, genetics, intervention research, and neuropathology. This long-term program examined the neurological basis of sensory processing disorder and explored the effectiveness of sensory integration therapy in different populations. The foundation also became an advocate for formal recognition of sensory processing disorder. A longstanding organizational objective was to encourage the American Psychiatric Association to include the condition in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. In the organization's framework, sensory processing disorder concerns differences in the way the brain integrates and processes sensory information, with consequences for everyday function and participation. Its advocacy work was closely linked to its research and educational missions, since the organization sought both greater clinical recognition and better-informed treatment. Over time, the organization adopted the STAR Institute identity and became known as the STAR Center Foundation, while the earlier names included the KID Foundation and Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation. Under the STAR Institute model, research, education, and treatment are integrated within a single center in Colorado. The clinical department applies the STAR Frame of Reference and offers support throughout the lifespan, including dedicated adolescent and adult services and a specialist feeding team. The research center supplies evidence and conceptual foundations for educational and treatment programs by studying neurological mechanisms and intervention outcomes. Miller retired in October 2019. Virginia Spielmann became executive director at that time. The organization's current identity thus reflects an evolution from a foundation principally associated with research and advocacy into a broader nonprofit institute combining clinical care, scientific investigation, and education. Its work remains concentrated in the United States and is directed toward individuals with sensory processing challenges, their families, and the professional communities that support them.

• 2019

  Leadership transition

  [1]Sensory Processing Disorder Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  Lucy Jane Miller retired in October, and Virginia Spielmann became executive director.

• 2017

  Long-running interdisciplinary research project concludes

  [1]Sensory Processing Disorder Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The university-based research collaboration led by the organization is described as having run from 1995 through 2017 and included scientists from multiple disciplines.

• 1995

  Wallace Research Foundation support begins

  [1]Sensory Processing Disorder Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  Support from the Wallace Research Foundation helped the organization establish a psychophysiology research laboratory focused on sensory processing.

• 1979

  Organization founded

  [1]Sensory Processing Disorder Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  Lucy Jane Miller founded the first iteration of the organization, initially with support from the U.S. Public Health Service's Maternal and Child Health division.

A specialist nonprofit combining clinical treatment, interdisciplinary research, and education focused on sensory processing and sensory integration across the lifespan.

• Clinical services

  STAR Institute Treatment Programs

  Therapeutic services based on the STAR Frame of Reference for people with sensory processing and sensory integration challenges. The programs operate across the lifespan and include support for children, adolescents, and adults. The clinical offering also includes a dedicated feeding team for individuals whose sensory or related difficulties affect eating and feeding.

• Research program · 1995

  STAR Institute Research Center

  A research program investigating the neurological underpinnings of sensory processing differences and the effectiveness of sensory integration therapy. Its findings provide a basis for the organization's education and treatment activities and have involved interdisciplinary work spanning neuroscience, epidemiology, genetics, intervention research, and neuropathology.

• Education and professional training

  Education Programs

  Educational activities intended to improve understanding of sensory integration and processing among professionals, families, and the broader public. The programs connect the organization's research findings with clinical practice and provide an educational component alongside treatment and research.

1. 1Sensory Processing Disorder Foundationen.wikipedia.org