Support
for Military-Connected Children and Families
Did you know that Indiana has the fourth largest number
of National Guard and Armed Forces Reserve members in the country? Did you know that there are well over 21,000
children in Indiana who have been affected by the deployment of a parent?
Most of these military-connected children and their
families are served by you, civilian pediatricians here in Indiana. There is a very good chance that you have at
least a few children in your practice who are either currently experiencing the
deployment of a parent, or who are working to adjust after a parent has
returned from a deployment. Even if you
have little or no experience with the military or life during and after
deployment, you can help these children tremendously!
In celebration of April as the Month of the Military
Child, the Indiana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics has developed
resources for you to better serve your military-connected families.
Many military families are extremely resilient in the
face of the many challenges that they experience before, during, and after the
deployments of their loved ones. We also
recognize, however, that military-connected children encounter many toxic stressors:
·
Increased risk for child maltreatment
·
Increased risk for behavioral and stress
disorders
·
The cumulative effect of parental combat
deployment on children that remains even AFTER the deployed parent returns home
·
Children from reserve component families
o
Identify more difficulties with parent
readjustment after that parent returns
o
Report more trouble interacting with peers
and teachers, who have limited understanding of their deployment experience
The following resources have been designed to assist you
in identifying and supporting military connected families in your practice:
·
Identification Questionnaire (Click
Here to view Questionnaire)
o
Intended to be reproducible so that you can
tailor it to the needs of your practice; incorporated into your EMR or
administered to your patients at check-in by your reception staff
·
A Military-Connected Family Resource Guide (Click
Here to View Resource Guide)
·
To Learn More (Click
Here to Learn More)
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