The Exceptional Family Member Program is a military program that is supposed to help those in the service with special needs children. In our 11 years of having special needs children in the military, they tried to help a few times but were way out of their league with our particular issues (extreme food allergies). The dietician never knew what to tell us although two of them tried REALLY hard. I don't blame them, they really don't have the right information to help someone with our challenges... they have a certain RX of thinking and that's it. They also refused to help us with autism recovery so overall our experience with them was negative. This has been an almost across the board response with autism in the military, whether the member is aiming at recovery or life skills. (I'm sure there are some exceptions to the norm) However, I have friends in the military who have had positive experiences with EFMP. They do not deal with autism and it has been a life saver for them in many ways.
The military has recently been asking questions of members regarding EFMP and has learned of the large gaping holes in the system, and are working to rectify the situation. Here is a link to the newest ways they are trying to make things more parent-friendly. So if you have a military friend with a special needs child, pass the link along so they can access their help a little easier. :)
The tides of "boxed thinking" are turning and even the military is beginning to think some alternative therapies are worth investigating. Yay for forward thinking!!
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