EFMP hosts STOMP for military families

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Olivia Bumpers
  • 23d Wing Public Affairs
Moody Air Force Base, Ga. --  Raising a child can be stressful for any parent but the stress of raising a child with special needs may be multiplied. Days are filled with appointments, therapies and other responsibilities necessary for the care of the child which can exhaust a parent's patience and become overwhelming.

To ease the stress a parent may feel when it comes to raising a child with disabilities, the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) hosted the Specialized Training of Military Parents (STOMP) program on Nov. 13 and 14.

"The STOMP program provides military parents with information and techniques on ways of dealing with a child with disabilities," said Windy Scott, 23d Force Support Squadron EFMP family support coordinator. "[The program] educates parents on issues that children may have with the school system and identifies how they can advocate."

STOMP provides a two-day workshop on various topics to meet the needs of the military community such as: special education law, individualized education program (IEP), guardianship, supplemental security income and enhanced care health option.

"The workshops are led by parent education coordinators from the Partnerships for Action, Voices for Empowerment (PAVE) program," said Scott. "They assist families and individuals with disabilities through a variety of programs and services."

Not only do the PAVE coordinators assist other families, they are also parents of children with special needs.

"We relate to the families we teach because we live it every day," said Elizabeth Nanguata, PAVE parent education coordinator and military spouse. "Having a child with special needs requires an overwhelming amount of time, energy and attention.

Teaching the program not only helps other families, it helps us grow as individuals. We use the same programs as other military families, so it's a learning experience for the both of us."

During the class, participants received binders with information that was covered on both days. Scott mentioned that the goal of the program was to offer information and resources to parents that will be useful for future references.

"My favorite part was the IEP," said Amber Seigler, wife of U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Joseph Seigler, 71st Rescue Squadron. "[STOMP] is extremely useful because a lot of people don't know this information. Things tend to change constantly so it is always good to stay up to date."

Seigler described that having the PAVE coordinators teach the program provides a comfort. She said despite having children with different disabilities, they understand the stress of raising one.

"Everyone deals with [stress] differently," said Seigler, mother of an 8-year old son with childhood apraxia of speech. "It can be a lonely experience because parents looking in from the outside don't understand. Parents with disabled children tend to migrate towards each other. Regardless of the different disabilities our children may have, we stick together and act as each other's support group."

Even though this was only the third time Moody hosted the STOMP program, Scott mentioned that she hopes to continue having the informative workshop to provide resources and a better understanding of how the program works for those military families who may need it.

"I didn't have these resources or anyone to give me guidance when my son was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder," said Scott. "I understand how frustrating it could be being a military parent of a child who has special needs. This program was designed to lessen the emotional strain."

For more information about the STOMP program or questions concerning the EFMP, contact the Airman and Family Readiness Center at 229-257-3333.