EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN
(HANDICAPPED AND GIFTED)
Of the 3 million babies born in the United
States each year, approximately one out of every
ten has a birth defect serious enough to require
special attention. Finding help for children with
special needs is often difficult. Parents may be
overwhelmed by a lack of knowledge concerning
resources and services available to exceptional
children. Parents may consult the chaplain for
guidance and referral assistance. The military
resources which are available to parents of
exceptional children include the following:
Family Service Centers
Champus Program for the Handicapped
Military Physicians
Family Service Centers
Family Service Centers (FSCs) serve as a
link between military resources and community
resources which provide support to handicapped
children. Family Service Centers maintain
detailed, specific information on the following
public laws:
PL 95-561—the Education Amendments
of 1978, requires that the Department of
Defense Dependents Schools (DODDSs) con-
form to PL 94-142.
PL 94-142—the Education of All Handi-
capped Children Act, guarantees the right to a
free, appropriate public education in the least
restrictive environment for all handicapped per-
sons between the ages of 3 and 21.
Members of the FSC staff frequently contact
state and local agencies and advocacy groups
to obtain current Federal and State guidelines
to facilitate implementation of PLs 95-561
and 94-142 and to determine what programs
are available for handicapped persons. Many
areas have recreation and educational programs
including adaptive swimming and adaptive
physical education, support groups for parents,
and vocational rehabilitation for adults.
The FSC staff can provide support to
families either directly or through support
groups comprised of persons sharing similar
problems. Support groups, such as the “Candle-
lighters” for parents of terminally ill children,
can provide the empathy and emotional support
needed to live through an extremely difficult
period.
Another method of support is providing
information about respite care for handicapped
children. A few hours of respite care per week
can provide a needed break for parents of handi-
capped children.
Gifted children have special needs also. The
education for the gifted and talented is not
governed by PL 94-142 and many areas do not
provide special classes for these children. The
FSC staff normally maintains contact with the
State Department of Education, local colleges,
and local school districts in order to receive con-
tinuous updated information on the gifted and
to impart this information to concerned parents.
CHAMPUS Program for the Handicapped
The CHAMPUS Program for the Handi-
capped provides financial assistance to active
duty members for the care, training, and
rehabilitation of a child or spouse who is
physically handicapped or mentally retarded.
ELIGIBILITY.—To qualify for CHAMPUS
assistance, the handicapped person must be a
spouse or child of a member of the uniformed
services who is on active duty under a call or
order that does not specify a period of 30 days or
less. A spouse or child of a deceased active duty
member may qualify if all of the requirements
listed below are met:
The spouse or child has not reached his or
her 21st birthday.
The spouse or child was receiving
assistance under the Program for the Handi-
capped at the time of the member’s death.
The member died after January 1, 1967,
while eligible for hostile fire pay or from a
disease or illness incurred while member was
eligible for such pay.
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