Category: Military Medical

Military health care and military families who have a child or children with special needs

10 Free Apps for Your Work With Military Families!

All of the apps were created for military connected professionals, service members, or their families- they can also be useful for you.  These apps can assist with stress and anxiety and provide ways to cope and relax: areas of expertise the military is keenly aware are needed for service members and their families. Check out our latest finds: PTSD Family Coach (from US Department of Veterans Affairs) and Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame (from Sesame Workshop).

PTSD Family Coach is for families living with PTSD, helps the individual(s) affected in their relationships with other family members including children, and has lots of information specific to veteran and active duty military families. Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame is for younger children, and is designed to help children learn to take time to Breath and Think as they deal with challenging situations or solve problems. Continue reading “10 Free Apps for Your Work With Military Families!”

TRICARE Videos

TRICARE, the healthcare entitlement program for military families, presents several quick videos on “What is TRICARE?”, “TRICARE Options for National Guard and Reserve Members”, TRICARE Extended Health Care Option (ECHO) – important for certain families who have children with disabilities- and TRICARE’s Autism Demonstration Project.

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Medicaid: Referring Military Families to Supports and Services

Military families have unique concerns around the supports and services needed by their child with special needs. On the one hand, they have guaranteed medical coverage through TRICARE, the military health care system and its range of special programs. On the other, there are distinct limits to coverage and programs which may leave military families without some essential supports and services. Medicaid can be an option for some military families which they may not have considered, and which Parent Center staff can help them explore.

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Extended Care Health Option (ECHO)

The Extended Care Health Option (ECHO) is a program offered through TRICARE, the military health care system.

ECHO may help some military families who have a family member with special needs. ECHO focuses on integrated sets of services and supplies beyond those available through TRICARE programs. Services are intended to reduce the disabling effects of a beneficiary’s condition. ECHO is only available as a supplement to TRICARE programs. If services or supplies are available through a beneficiary’s TRICARE plan, they won’t be covered under ECHO.

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The Respite Care Question for Military Children

Accessing community-based respite care can be a challenge for many military families.  For instance, Active Duty families are seldom in a community long enough to find local respite care or available providers might not be covered through TRICARE, the military health care system. A study by Borden, et al. (2014) reveals why military families have trouble getting civilian respite care: Eligibility often requires qualifying for Medicaid and/or SSI (difficult for military families due to high mobility), cumbersome applications, waitlists, and shortages of qualified providers. Continue reading “The Respite Care Question for Military Children”

When A Child’s Parent Has PTSD

Reprinted with permission of the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

Jennifer L. Price, PhD
Updated January 3, 2015

Researchers have examined the impact of Veterans’ PTSD symptoms on family relationships, and on children of Veterans in particular. Understanding how these symptoms affect relationships can help families and children of Veterans cope with difficulties, should they arise. Although much of the research described here has been conducted with children of Vietnam Veterans, findings from this body of research may generalize to children of Veterans from other eras as well as non-Veterans with PTSD.

How might a Veteran’s PTSD symptoms affect his or her children?

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