Month of the Military Child

We all know that April is Autism Awareness Month and OT Month, but did you know that April is also the Month of the Military Child?

I work with several military children and am constantly amazed at the strength and courage of these families. Having a child with special needs can be a challenge by itself. Add the stress of frequent moves and long term deployments on top of raising a child with special needs, and you can quickly see how the challenges these families face require special attention.

In honor of Month of the Military Child, here are some resources to help you support the military families you work with:

• Zero to Three has a project called Coming Together Around Military Families. This website is packed full of useful information to help professionals support military families, including a quarterly newsletter for professionals serving military families, a variety of materials to support military families, an "Over There" Activity Book to help children with the deployment process, and a new Duty to Care e-learning course for professionals working with military families.

• The United States Department of Defense has a website dedicated to the military child. While not specific to children with special needs, this website profiles military children and shares many stories about military children.

• Also, please be sure to check out my earlier post about the Caring for Military Kids with Autism Act. This bill is still working it's way through Congress, so please contact your congress member today and ask them to support this bill!