We are excited to announce that in collaboration with Secure Families Initiative, Exceptional Families of the Military has negotiated discounted access to Secure Families Initiative's ADVOCACY training resources.  

EFM families and advocates can access this training at a discounted rate of $3 here: https://www.patreon.com/securefamilies

 Use the buttons above to locate contact information for your Representative or Senator 

1. To ask for a meeting with or further information for your Congress person, call the Washington D.C. number listed in the Contacts from the above websites. When the receptionist answers, state your name and that your a military spouse/other, and state the reason for your call (military healthcare concern or autism services for military families)
2. Ask for the email address for the person handling the military family concerns or health policy concerns (they are happy to provide this information)
3. Say thank you and end the call
4. Send the email

If the person responds and requests to schedule a meeting to discuss your family’s concerns then we are here to help!  Send us an email at info@exceptionalmilitaryfam.com or send us a message on facebook.  One of our team members can provide documents or even attend the meeting for support.  

MAKE SURE TO REMOVE ALL TYPING IN BOLD BEFORE SENDING! 

Dear CONGRESS PERSON(it’s appropriate to say Congressman/Congresswoman or Mr/Mrs) (If you wish to write to a senator then say “Dear Senator ---”)

I am the (SPOUSE/CHILD/OTHER) of a military service member who has a family  member on the autism spectrum, and I’m emailing about the Autism Care Demonstration (ACD) program.  This program allows military beneficiaries to receive a highly effective form of therapy for autism known as applied behavior analysis (ABA).  This is the leading recommended therapy for autism by the American Academy of Pediatrics.  In March 2021, the Defense Health Agency (DHA) changed the policies governing the ACD program.  These policies place heavy restrictions on receiving ABA in any educational setting (includes homeschooling) and the community settings.  Parents are also mandated to undergo parent stress assessments every 6 months, or our children will not be eligible to receive ABA.

These policy changes are affecting my family member(S) in the following ways  (INSERT DETAILS OF YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE HERE). 

The major concerns with the changes are outlined here: 

• Mandating parent stress assessments every 6 months in order for the child to receive ABA.  Only parents seeking ABA therapy for their child are mandated to undergo these assessments.  No other families in the military healthcare system are required to do this in order for their child to receive medically necessary therapy.
• Restricting delivery of ABA in all education settings to a licensed behavior analyst.  The registered behavior technicians (RBTs) will no longer be allowed to serve the child in any educational settings.
• Restricting delivery of ABA in all community settings.

Military families need a champion in (Congress or Senate) to help us ensure that our children receive high quality autism services.  The latest policies issued by DHA are placing a barrier for families like mine to access these very important autism services.  Please speak on our behalf and ask DHA to remove these restrictions in the educational and community settings, and to no longer mandate parents undergo very intrusive parent stress assessments in order for our children to receive therapy.

I would be grateful for your support, and would welcome an opportunity to speak in more detail about these policy changes with an office representative.

Respectfully, 

Name 

Contact information 

Picture of family member

               MAKE SURE TO REMOVE ALL TYPING IN BOLD BEFORE SENDING!