News and Knowledge

Military families face all the emotions and challenges that accompany having a child diagnosed with autism, compounded by the realities of service: war, extended family separation, frequent moves, varying access to specialized health care, and other stressors that complicate and often work against effective treatment for children with autism.

To help families deal with those challenges, OAR offers “A Guide for Military Families” free of charge to them and to military bases. The guide and its companion website, OperationAutism.org, are specifically tailored to provide military families with the tools and access to information that they need. More specifically, the guide provides:

• An understanding of autism and related intervention and treatment
• Strategies for addressing the challenges of autism from the time of diagnosis through adulthood
• An overview of the Department of Defense and service policies related to having a child with autism
• Information on autism treatment options and coverage within the military healthcare system
• Practical information and tools to guide a child’s education
• Tips and advice relative to transitions such as permanent change of station moves, new schools, and more
• Links to additional resources relative to autism and military families

Find out more about the guide and download/order copies.

OAR’s military initiative was made possible thanks to the American Legion Child Welfare Foundation’s generous support.

Guide and Website Updates Coming Soon

In order to ensure that OAR’s resources continue to remain practical and relevant for years to come, OAR is excited to announce that it plans to revise “A Guide for Military Families” and OperationAutism.org starting next year. OAR aims to improve the lives of military families affected by autism by delivering:

• The latest information about military health care
• Expanded access to evidence-based autism information tailored to military families
• An improved searchable directory of schools, educational resources, and autism supports in or near military installations
• An updated website design to meet today’s best practices in user experience design

The project will occur in four stages: research, technical design/writing, test and implementation, and evaluation. OAR will engage expert volunteers to support key content development. Additional suggestions on how to improve the military initiative are welcome. If you would like to learn more, make a suggestion, or be involved with the project, please contact OAR at programs@researchautism.org.