The BENEFIT Act, HR 4472 / S373, has obtained more bi-partisan support in the US House of Representatives! Representative Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) has signed on to show his continued support for the rare disease community. The BENEFIT Act is a bi-partisan piece of legislation that would require that the FDA disclose whether and how patient experience and/or preference data was used in the benefit risk assessment of a new drug. It will ensure that patient voices are being heard and allow for patient stakeholders to continue to work with FDA to refine the data that they need to make decisions. With everything our community has experienced throughout the last year, we know it's more important than ever to have the FDA consider patient experience as a part of their approval process. Help the voices of our community be heard and encourage your elected officials to co-sponsor this bill today!
Encourage your elected officials to support the rare disease community by sending a letter of support: https://p2a.co/p2rB8XJ
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Jennifer Bolander has been serving as a Special Education Specialist for PWSA (USA) since October of 2015. She is a graduate of John Carroll University and lives in Ohio with her husband Brad and daughters Kate (17), and Sophia (13) who was born with PWS.
Perry A. Zirkel has written more than 1,500 publications on various aspects of school law, with an emphasis on legal issues in special education. He writes a regular column for NAESP’s Principal magazine and NASP’s Communiqué newsletter, and he did so previously for Phi Delta Kappan and Teaching Exceptional Children.
Evan has worked with the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association (USA) since 2007 primarily as a Crisis Intervention and Family Support Counselor. Evans works with parents and schools to foster strong collaborative relationships and appropriate educational environments for students with PWS.
Dr. Amy McTighe is the PWS Program Manager and Inpatient Teacher at the Center for Prader-Willi Syndrome at the Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh. She graduated from Duquesne University receiving her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Education with a focus on elementary education, special education, and language arts.
Staci Zimmerman works for Prader-Willi Syndrome Association of Colorado as an Individualized Education Program (IEP) consultant. Staci collaborates with the PWS multi-disciplinary clinic at the Children’s Hospital in Denver supporting families and school districts around the United States with their child’s Individual Educational Plan.
Founded in 2001, SDLC is a non-profit legal services organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the legal rights of people with disabilities throughout the South. It partners with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Protection and Advocacy (P&A) programs, Legal Services Corporations (LSC) and disability organizations on major, systemic disability rights issues involving the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the federal Medicaid Act. Recently in November 2014, Jim retired.