Fort Belvoir, Va. (April 10, 2014) - The Fort Belvoir Army Community Service Exceptional Family Member Program hosted an Autism Awareness Fair April 3 at the ACS building.
The fair was part of the EFMP's Autism Awareness Month activities and provided Families at Fort Belvoir with autistic children information on programs and other resources available to them on post and in the local community.
"Some don't know where to start when it comes to finding resources to help raise their child," said Marlo Keller, EFMP Specialist. "So, we figure we can reach out to them and get them closer to where they need to be."
According to Keller, the Fort Belvoir Child Development Center recently reported that the percentage of children who will be born autistic has increased. So, Families are in need of more resources to help support their children, said Keller.
"A lot of facilities on post aren't aware of the increase of autistic children," Keller said. "So, getting the information out will help get more resources for our Families to help raise their children."
The Continuum Autism Spectrum Alliance, Parents of Autistic Children of Northern Virginia, the Organization for Autism Research and the Autism Network of Fort Belvoir were among the organizations at the fair.
The Autism Network of Fort Belvoir started a year ago with the idea of giving parents on post a place to go and share information about resources available for parents with autistic children, according to Paula McAnderson, Autism Network of Fort Belvoir volunteer.
"Families receive a lot of information on services available when they first get to an installation," said McAnderson. "But, once you receive the information you are kind of turned loose. There's no connection to services. So, the idea behind the group is to help Families connect with those support services."
The group meets once a month, but anyone in the group can request a meeting if they need one, according to McAnderson.
"If you are having one of those really bad days, you can go on the Facebook page and see who wants to meet you," said McAnderson. "Sometimes, it's 12 people, sometimes it's only two. But, that network is there to offer support."
The Continuum Autism Spectrum Alliance addresses the needs of those present with signs or symptoms associated with Autism Spectrum disorder and related developmental disabilities. They offer behavior based treatment for individuals of any age range.
They even work with military Families who change duty stations by working with the healthcare provider the Family finds at its new installation.
"Our assessments are very complete so if they have to relocate, the information they have can be given to another provider," said Continuum Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst Supervisor, Joshua Vickstrom. "We can collaborate with that provider and let them know what we have done with the patient to that point."
The Organization for Autism Research has created two treatment plans for military Families with autistic children, according to Organization for Autism Research Executive Director, Michael Maloney.
One plan takes a Family from diagnosis into treatment and discusses aspects of autism that might be affected by military life. Children with Autism need stability, according to Maloney, which isn't common for military Families due to deployments and permanent change of station moves.
"Changing schools and faces in terms of medical services and support is one thing that affects military children with autism," said Maloney. "When a child's in school, they have certain programs and people in place to support them. So, going from one school to the next, you don't always have the same structure. If a Family knows in advance where they are moving to, they can ask which school districts provide certain services their child might need."
A lack of resources is the biggest hurdle military Families with autistic children run into. According to Keller, Families should contact their installation's EFMP program as soon as they arrive to help find resources.
"Most organizations are on Facebook, and a lot of installations have Family organizations they've started for Family support," said Keller. "EFMP can help them find those resources."
Social Sharing