Military families face challenges all the time with their constant moves, but some families find moving even more daunting than others. Ours is one of the estimated 540,000 active duty families who are caring for a family member with special education or medical needs. To us, finding the perfect home is second to finding a home in the best school district for children with special needs or the home closest to the nearest medical specialist. Ideally, we look for both!
Soon after our daughter was born with Down syndrome, we began looking for help. We were moving in just a few short months and needed to make sure our next assignment was going to have adequate medical and education services for her. In searching the Internet, I found STOMP, which stands for Specialized Training Of Military Parents. It’s the only national training and information center for military members with dependents with ANY type of special need.
According to their website, STOMP is:
…a parent-directed project exists to empower military parents, individuals with disabilities, and service providers with knowledge, skills, and resources so that they might access services to create a collaborative environment for family and professional partnerships without regard to geographic location.
STOMP provides seminars in various military installations across the world. I was lucky to attend a two day seminar when we were stationed in New York. The information is invaluable as the seminars give you the knowledge you need and empower you to be the best advocate for your family member.
One of the best parts of STOMP is their email listserv. Military families across the world can post questions to other military families who might have had to deal with the same experiences or issues they are facing. Relocation questions are also very common on the listserv. You can ask anyone who has been to your new location for help! Until STOMP came along, finding another military family in your situation was tough if not impossible.
I’m still finding military families who have family members with special needs who have never heard of STOMP. I want to get the word out to as many folks as possible and make sure they have access to the valuable resources that STOMP provides.
The STOMP office closest to Colorado Springs is:
STOMP Central Regional Office
3910 Via Del Trinidad
Sierra Vista AZ 85650
Ph/Fax: 520-458-7911
Contact: amartinez@washingtonpave.com
STOMP Project
OCTOBER IS NATIONAL DOWN SYNDROME AWARENESS MONTH
National Down Syndrome Society
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