Comment from Tadych, Allison, Minnesota School of Business

I am responding to Docket No. SSA-2006-0114. I have read the purposed changes to the criteria in the Listing of Impairments that are used to evaluate claims under titles II and XVI involving endocrine disorders in adults and children. I agree that with the advances in the medical sector, endocrine disorders in children are being controlled by medications and may not reach the level of severity as required as well as being diagnosed with more certainty. An endocrine disorder has the potential to change a child’s entire life and in most instances lasts far longer than 12 months. My daughter suffers from Grave’s disease. She has experienced bouts of increase growth with no increase in weight gain. She was placed on high blood pressure medication for sometime due to the increase heart rate caused by the disease. She has suffered, diagnosed, with this for more than two years. The medication has kept her T4 and floating T4 levels within the range to minimize the growth disturbances. As we approach the next stage in treatment, I am comforted by the realization that if my daughter would require additional financial support during this time of trial it is there and available and the experts have come together and determined that these types of disorders in children need to be looked at more on a case by case basis rather than having them fit into a specific mold; a mold that they may not fit into because medical science has developed a way to lower the impact of the disease through medication. Thank you, Allison Tadych