Shielding special-needs children
The interstate compact sheds light on the vulnerability of military children, but perhaps none need assistance more than those with special needs. Differences in schools and programs aren’t the only challenge families face. Parents also have to work hard to find doctors who will get up to speed on their child’s condition. “The biggest frustration is starting over with a new doctor and defending the care my child has received,” says Cotton, whose daughter has a lung disorder. “I’m al- ways looking for someone to get to know my child [and] the history of the condition, [someone] who understands the things we’ve done and ways we’ll go forward. And you don’t often find that.” Additionally, military families have been frustrated that service branches have different standards for help- ing their children. The Marine Corps is said to have the best approach (“That’s the general consensus,” Cotton says), and parents in other service branches want the same standards for their children.
Jeremy Hilton is a former Navy lieutenant whose wife is on active duty in the Air Force. Their 8-year-old daugh- ter has “a number of significant intellectual delays,” Hilton says. The Hiltons, now living in Virginia, filed a complaint with the DoD Inspector General against the Air Force for lack of services. Findings were in the family’s favor. But the discrepancies her family has seen between the Navy and the Air Force are frustrating, Hilton says. “It takes me six months [after moving] to reestablish a support system because of all the things you have to get done,” Hilton says. “Special education for military kids is tough. We need an advocate at the DoD level to look at broader policy issues because of how each of the services operates differently.” By 2010, MOAA and other organizations had suc- cessfully raised awareness, and Congress and DoD established the new Office of Community Support for Military Families with Special Needs. Its purpose is to provide that desired baseline.
[CONTINUES ON PAGE 76] APRIL 2011 MILITARY OFFICER 55
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