By Tiffany Shed

Part of being a military spouse means that you are constantly adapting to change, lots of it.

Changes comes in the form of moving; being away from family and lifelong friends; finding new employment; finding new friends; trying to make a house into a home and so on and so on. We all know the list is very long. 

I think that because of that constant need to adapt, as parents or participants in the Exceptional Family Member Program, we’re more likely to take whatever comes at us in stride and move forward in the best way we can - whether that means finding new specialists at a new duty station or finding a daycare that meets the needs of your children. Often families have begun and maybe even finished the search for the services they need before they arrive.

There are a lot of resources that make those searches much easier, whether you just rely on good old Google or you prefer something different, the resources are out there for you to find and use. If you’re a Pinterest addict like me, you might have a whole board dedicated to milspouse resources.

If that isn’t really your thing, then maybe Military OneSource is a resource you want to save on your computer. You can find out information about your new duty station or even receive free confidential counseling.

I have recently discovered their EFMP resources. Their site is really a one-stop shop with information about the Exception Family Member Program. There is a great overview for those not familiar with the program to include information about education, legal assistance and even special needs consultations. According to their website, their special needs consultants are licensed, Master's Degree level professionals with a wealth of knowledge about how to navigate the sometimes tricky resources available to you and your family.

If you aren’t sure that EFMP is something you and your family need, then check out this website: http://www.militaryonesource.mil/efmp

I knew before my son even had his first seizure that something was not right. I told his primary care manager about my concerns, but didn’t feel like I was taken seriously at the time. A month later, he started having tonic-clonic seizures with no explanation or known clause. Had I known that I could get a consultation through Military OneSource, I definitely would have made that call.

The website above details all the different ways Military OneSource can step in to help you navigate the resources available to your family.

If you’re already in the program, there are still resources and links to other topics that may prove valuable to you. If you don’t understand why Tricare isn’t covering a treatment your specialist says you need and should be covered? Military OneSource consultants can help you with that. They will call Tricare with you and try to get to the bottom of the situation. Need some financial advice about how to plan for your special needs child’s future? They have free webinars about things like mutual funds.

Being a military spouse is a tough job in itself, but add a special needs child or a special need of your own, and that job just got more complicated. It’s nice when you find a resource like Military OneSource that can make your life a little easier.