Fw: [Autism] Military offers special needs assistance, such as for children with ASD

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Interesting,...I wonder if other military families have experienced this.AasaSubject: [Autism] Military offers special needs assistance, such as for children with ASDTo: Undisclosed-Recipient:;@lists.apana.orgDate: Tuesday, January 12, 2010, 2:00 AM

This morning's *Boston Globe* includes an article: "Military effortoffers special-needs care; Families get range of educational, medicalsupport" by Emma Brown.Here are some excerpts:[begin excerpts]When her husband, a Marine Corps colonel, was transferred last summerfrom the Pentagon to a base in southern California, Driscoll wasforced to confront the new school district that served her child withautism and the intricacies of federal special education law.The Poway Unified School District near San Diego offered Driscoll's 11-year-old, , the support of an aide for 10 hours a week - less thanhalf the 21 hours that suburban Fairfax County, Va., had provided andsaid he deserved under federal law."They slashed his services in half and said, 'We believe this iscomparable,' '' Driscoll said.Until recently, Driscoll would have had to fight the school district alone. But under a new Marine Corps initiative, she had reinforcements: a caseworker and a special education lawyer, provided by the military, toaccompany her to meetings with school officials and, if need be, to court.That initiative is part of a larger military effort, led by the Marinesand the Army, to address the medical, educational, and emotionalchallenges faced by special needs families."The Marine Corps is really standing behind our military families andsaying, 'We will take care of you and help you through this process,' ''Driscoll said. With the US military in the room, she said, the Poway school districtseemed more willing to negotiate. Without setting foot in a courtroom, was assigned a full-time aide.About 220,000 active-duty and reserve service members have dependentswith special needs, but only 90,000 are enrolled in the military's mainprogram to serve them, according to the Defense Department.<snip>Each Marine Corps family is assigned a caseworker who helps themunderstand each state's differing disability regulations and navigatethe bewildering process of accessing special education services.Three staff lawyers have been designated to help parents with legalissues related to disabilities, including pressing school districts forthose services."They needed to do something so that service members could deploywithout worrying,'' said Joyce Raezer, executive director of theNational Military Family Association based in suburban andria, Va.The new measures are encouraging servicemen and women to ask for helpaddressing dependents' disabilities rather than hiding them, officials said. [end excerpts]The article is online at:<http://bit.ly/80GP3a>

Ken Pope