Military Families Battle Autism

The following letter is from Karen Driscoll. I also have an article about Autism and the Military Family in the current issue of Autism File Magazine.
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Dear Family, Friends, and Military Supporters,
As you may be aware, our recent legislative efforts to address the medical needs of military children with Autism did not have enough support from the Armed Services Committee. This is a tremendous disappointment to the 19,000+ military families impacted by this devastating disability. Despite the tidal wave of public policy surpassing TRICARE on this topic, much more education is necessary with members and staff of the Armed Services Committee regarding the medical needs of children with autism and TRICARE deficits in coverage of effective treatments. Along those lines, we've been fortunate to have excellent FOX coverage to help raise public awareness of the unique needs of our special kids. See below links. I encourage widest dissemination. Please forward via all means (email, facebook, etc). The more awareness we can build....the better. Each story is unique, but all carry the same message......we have a moral obligation to care for the medical needs of our military children and families. This is especially true given the significant responsibilities our military families shoulder today. It is simply the right thing to do.

I am grateful for the strong leadership of Congressman Joe Sestak and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. They are amazing champions for our special kids, and they will continue this advocacy in Congress. It is a sign of a true leader that can recognize a problem, aspire to do the right thing, and effect change. They are great Americans.

It is good to see the improvements in military family support programs across the board. Our Marines are doing great work and are leading the way with our USMC family readiness programs. I am especially grateful for the USMC Exceptional Family Member Program to assist families with continuity of care issues and support needs. Marines know how to take care of their own! That being said, family support programs cannot address the medical needs of our children, and we still need Congressional intervention to fix the TRICARE deficits in coverage of effective medical treatments. I hope you can help raise public awareness of this need.

Aired on 11/9/09:
http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/military-families-battle-against-autism-...

Aired on 9/23/09:
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/health/090923_military_families_autism_help

Aired on 7/10/09:
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/health/090710_families_military_autism

Thank you for your continued support. Keep the faith......we will continue to work and advocate for the positive changes our families need.

Semper Fi,
Karen Driscoll - Marine Corps wife, mother of 3 (one with autism)