Military Families and Students with LD – An Overview

Are you (or your spouse) a member of the U.S. military who is also raising a child with a disability? If so, rest assured you’re not alone. According to Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-CA, and Chair of the Military Personnel Subcommittee), there are 100,000 military families with children or other family members who have some type of disability.

Military families — even those whose loved ones don’t have special needs — face a host of challenges. Frequent relocation around the country (or around the globe) and deployment (and extended absence) of one or both parents can make life difficult for children. Sometimes a grandparent must assume the role of caregiver and education advocate when a child’s parents are unavailable. If your child has a disability, the challenges become even greater. You and your family deserve extra support. The good news is that there is a wealth of support — and new legislation — to help you and your child.

One of the most difficult disabilities to identify and address is learning disability (LD), sometimes called the “invisible disability.” LD is less obvious than many other disabilities, and usually isn’t identified until a child enters elementary school. Nevertheless, the sooner LD is identified and addressed, the greater chance a child has of keeping up in school rather than losing ground and losing self-esteem. In this article, the first in a series of three, we’ll guide you through the maze of challenges that you and your “military kid” may face.

Before we delve into the topic of special education and the military, let’s step back and look at the larger landscape of military kids and education.

Education and Military Families: The Big Picture

Exactly how big is the “student body” among military families? Here are some statistics that might surprise you:

• There are approximately 1.5 million children and youth today in U.S. public schools whose parents are in the military. (Source: Military Child Initiative)

• Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) operates more than 200 public schools in 15 districts located in 13 foreign countries, seven states, Guam, and Puerto Rico. All schools within DoDEA are fully accredited by U.S. accreditation agencies. Approximately 8,785 teachers serve DoDEA's 102,600 students. (Source: Wrightslaw) However, about 80 percent of military children attend school in a civilian school district. (Source: National Military Family Association Fact Sheet, 2006)

Note: The DoDEA is essentially a subdivision of the Department of Defense (DoD). Military parents whose children have physical disabilities that require special education will probably deal with the DoD in general for the child’s medical needs and with the DoDEA specifically for special education issues.

While life in the military certainly offers benefits, it often comes at a price. Military families typically face challenges in school and at home, such as:

• Frequent relocation — every 3 years, on average. This means starting over in a new community — and a new school — each time the family moves.
• Living overseas (in some cases), adjusting to a different culture and/or feeling isolated living at a remote military base.
• The stress of having one or both parents deployed far from home. Children are affected by the absence of one or both parents and have even higher levels of stress when their military parent is in a war zone shown constantly on T.V. (Source: National Military Family Assoc.) A child’s distress level is also closely tied to the number of months a parent has been deployed during the child’s lifetime. (Source: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, April 2010.)
• A correlation between a child’s distress level and that of his or her parent(s). In one study, researchers found that about one-third of the parents left at home while their partners were deployed experienced increased anxiety and depression. Almost 40 percent of recently returned deployed parents showed elevated anxiety and depression. (Source: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, April 2010)

A military child who has a learning disability or learning difficulty will likely face some additional challenges:

• The assessment of a child’s learning disability, his special education placement, and the development of his Individualized Education Program (IEP) may be disrupted by frequent family relocation and transfer to a new school.
• Many children find it stressful to adjust to a new school, with new routines, teachers, and classmates. Those with LD may have an especially rough transition since they often struggle with social skills as well as academic work.
• Professionals may have trouble distinguishing a true LD from learning difficulties due to stress-related symptoms that stem from having a parent deployed in a war zone, or the child trying to adjust to a new school and social life after the family lands in a new location.
• When a child changes schools frequently, it may be tricky for teachers (and parents) to monitor his academic progress. Systems for documenting his performance may vary from one school to the next, and teacher observations may not be passed along to the next school.

Clearly, many military families whose children struggle in school face significant challenges. Fortunately, there are many resources and supports available to assist you in meeting your child’s needs. These are highlighted in the second article in our series, “Special Education Laws and Rights for the Military Child.“

And, our third article in the series, “Tips for Military Parents on Supporting Their Children,” will offer some practical ways you can manage your child’s education experience.

Non-Traditional School Options Some families choose alternative school options for their children with learning disabilities when they feel it will better meet their needs. Some examples: Private school Homeschooling Virtual/online education If you are considering any of these options, be sure to consult with a DoDEA case manager, who can help you research the relevant laws in the state where you live, as well as the requirements and resources available through your public school district or the DoDEA.

 

Additional Resources

• Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA)
• State-by-State Education Resource Center
• State Department of Education Locator
• Specialized Training of Military Parents (STOMP)
• Military Students on the Move (pdf)
• Military Child Education Coalition
  
  

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  Kristin Stanberry is a writer and editor specializing in parenting, education, and consumer health/wellness issues. Her areas of expertise include learning disabilities and AD/HD, topics which she wrote about extensively for Schwab Learning and GreatSchools.
  
  This article was made possible by a grant from Oak Foundation.