Any military or ex-miltary people here?

[CarolineJ]

I'm looking to see if anybody has any experience with a few things concerning any special needs and the military.

[sesley]

i don't know of any,but my son is neurotypical 19 year old is filling in a from to join the navy,which says no oone with autism or any other mentla inpairment will be accepted,becasue they need to have social skills in the navy,don't know abut the others

[Bard]

warrenpenalver has just left the Navy, why not pm him?

[bjkmummy]

hi, im a forces wife - my husband is the raf - we live on an raf base so if you need any help etc feel free to pm me and ill try and help

[Canopus]

A few years ago I was discussing military service in Singapore with a postgrad at university. He told me that military service is compulsory and almost all citizens have to do repeat military service at regular intervals afterwards because the population of Singapore is too small for full time armed forces. I then asked about what happens to disabled people and whether they exempt or not. The answer is that there are plenty of desk jobs on military bases for them to do if they are not in a suitable condition for combat positions.

 

The British armed forces officially won't take any disabled people as all serving members have to be suitable for combat positions. There was a lot of fuss over this back in 2000 with General Charles Guthrie. Popular opinion seemed to be on his side of excluded disabled people completely.

[CarolineJ]

Sorry, I meant to get back to this before. My husband is in the RAF.

 

bjkmummy, have you ever had any difficulties with the RAF/DHE/DE anybody tied to the RAF, regarding your son/s? We having housing problems at the moment and have had to bring in SSAFA and CAMHS *sigh*

[bjkmummy]

hi, when ben was dx we were living in our own house. once he was dx we decided to move counties etc so came back into quarters

 

bens consultant recommended that we took ben to view the house etc but the dhe wouldnt allow us access until the day of the march in even with a letter from the consultant!!! i only have 3 kids so 'technically' only entitled to a 3 bed quarter but no way my kids could share so i argued for a 4 bed and found some legal case or something to back up my case. my application for a quarter then became like war and peace cos i attahced so many reports and things that i had printed off to back up my application. think they were so scared when they got my application that they immeadiately gave me a 4 bed house!!!

 

if you need any advice or just want to talk to someone else in a similar postion feel free to pm me? where abouts are you based???

[CarolineJ]

We're at Boulmer.

 

We're in an awkward position. When Darren was posted here in 2003, there was a situation with MQs that meant we got allocated a 3 bed officer's MQ as there were no 3 bed airman's houses available and though we were coming from a 4 bed, they wouldn't give us a 4 bed up here. We had 3 children then.

 

So fast forward to now - 5 years later. Darren's been posted to the SFC, which is also at Boulmer, so though we don't need to move out of area, we now have 6 people in a 3 bed and it's not working. We applied for a 4 bed, on the same end of the village, to keep the disruption as small as possible for Bim. He knows the geography of this patch. He's also allowed out to play and knows which tree and fences he can go as far as. He's also got some good friends here. The adults here know him too.

 

Here's DEs problem: "We cannot offer you a quarter in that area as it is above your entitlement. You could try putting together a welfare case, but your chances are slim." We've been "in that area" for 5 years!

 

So anyway, I've got SSAFA involved and we're also waiting on letters of support from Bim's CPN and consultant, so for now, we're stuck.

 

*sigh*

[bjkmummy]

ssafa can be quite pwerful though. my friend has twins who have been dx with autism plus a one year old. she was told no way you can have a 4 bed but she got ssafa involved and she was given a 4 bed quarter. i think sometimes they are just jobsworth but if you keep pushing you will get one - ill do a search later and see if ican find the information that i used

 

i used to be in the raf myself so did my trade training there so have happy memories of the area. my next door neighbour was a policeman there before he moved here a year ago - you may know him!!! hes a complete pain and i soooooo wish i didnt live next door to a policeman

 

he has 2 kids age 9 and 7 - he also has an 'au pair' whos just turned 21 - hes a single dad - dont know where mum is but the kids see her sometimes

 

he has got a 4 bed house cos he argued that the au pair needed a room but they are living together as a couple!!!!! in fact they are getting married on friday. some people really play the system - can you not invent another long lost kid?? know thats probably a bad idea but the number of people who use that to get a bigger house nad then the kid never ever comes to stay!

[freedom]

hi there we are at the end of being in the army steve is finishing his last of his 22 year stint

 

he has different views to me but i do understand this fully in combat sorry to say but you need your full facitalies about you the others in your regiment really dont need extra pressure knowing they have to make sure one person has understood.

 

if we had taken a house on camp we would have been given a 3 bed one room each as we have another 2 children that join us every holidays so 6 in a 3 bed most times also the the army could have supported me in the educational side that i am and have been facing allown for the last year, but as steve is coming out on the 1st of december then we decided to be here where we are it is 25 miles from camp we are will in army land as in wiltshire there are camps every where but i would have had loads of support from them and had no problems at all with emlyn's education

 

emlyn is army mad and all his room is full of army gear kit and toys he really wants to join the armty when he is older but we know the facts of this we are when he is 12 going to send him to army cadetts to see how he gets on with that type of situation but will have to wait till then

[warrenpenalver]

SSAFA are good!! All the service charities are generally very good. Also the servicemen charities often help those families still in the service not just retired. The navy has an in house naval personnel and families service as well as charities. I dont know if the RAF has a similar in house organisation.

[CarolineJ]

ssafa can be quite pwerful though. my friend has twins who have been dx with autism plus a one year old. she was told no way you can have a 4 bed but she got ssafa involved and she was given a 4 bed quarter. i think sometimes they are just jobsworth but if you keep pushing you will get one - ill do a search later and see if ican find the information that i used

 

i used to be in the raf myself so did my trade training there so have happy memories of the area. my next door neighbour was a policeman there before he moved here a year ago - you may know him!!! hes a complete pain and i soooooo wish i didnt live next door to a policeman

 

he has 2 kids age 9 and 7 - he also has an 'au pair' whos just turned 21 - hes a single dad - dont know where mum is but the kids see her sometimes

 

he has got a 4 bed house cos he argued that the au pair needed a room but they are living together as a couple!!!!! in fact they are getting married on friday. some people really play the system - can you not invent another long lost kid?? know thats probably a bad idea but the number of people who use that to get a bigger house nad then the kid never ever comes to stay!

 

I know exactly who you are talking about! Older boy and younger girl right? His kids went to the same school as mine! I can't for the life of me remember his name though. Is it the Spanish girl he's marrying?

 

So you were a scopie? Small world! We may have crossed paths in the past

 

As for house stuff, we are entitled to a 4 bed and have been offered 2 over the other side of the village, but really need to push for one on this side as we have worked so hard to give Bim the confidence where he is and if something small can avoid anxiety for him and consequential stress on the rest of the family, then it's our jobs as his advocates to try to do this.

 

It's a big shame we don't own the house we are in as we love it so much. We'd stay here if we could extend onto it.

[madme]

My son is nearly 13. He is very obsessed about flying He has had a few flying lessons and is hoping to join the air cadets this year. He has a dx of Aspergers, Dyspraxia and Adhd. He does take meds at present but this may change. If he wanted to join the airforce in some capacity( not necessarily as a pilot) would the asd dx stop him? He has loads of flight simulations on his laptop. When he had a few lessons he was fine and the pilot found him great to deal with as he was so interested. I have my own views but he is so obsessed that I feel that I can't put barriers in his way. Do all the forces say no to autism? I would't want him to join up. I feel that he should keep this as a hobby and when he can afford it do his private pilots licence.

[bjkmummy]

yes i was a scopie in mypast life before children!! was not in long - did my training and then went to buchan. within 6 months got pregnant and left!!!!!

 

guy next door called andy and he is a real pain!!!! be interested to here if youve got any good stories about him! you can pm me!

 

shes polish i think but she does look spanish as she has very dark hair - hes a lot older than her. he is a control freak and scares me!!!

 

i really hope that you get a house on the side of quarters that you need - as you say need to keep change to a minimum and moving to the other side is a change you could do without

[CarolineJ]

Buchan's enough to get anyone to PVR! We were there from 1999-2001. Ouch.

 

Thanks for your support. I'll let you know how we get on.

[warrenpenalver]

If he wanted to join the airforce in some capacity ( not necessarily as a pilot) would the asd dx stop him? .................................. Do all the forces say no to autism? I would't want him to join up. I feel that he should keep this as a hobby and when he can afford it do his private pilots licence.

Military Service Medical rules for entry are different to Cadet Forces.

 

Military medical rules are based around potential effective service and ability to withstand military conditions.

 

Cadet Forces medical rules are mainly about health and safety. The Cadets do quite often accept people with a variety of disabilities but its obviously subject to the type of cadet force and what allowances and changes are realistic at the individual units.

 

For military service the guidelines state:

"Disorders of Psychological Development (F80-F89)

 

The crucial group in this category are candidates with autism (F84) who

should normally be graded S8. Occasionally candidates present with a diagnosis of

Asperger?s syndrome (F84.5) but on examination seem to be normal. Whilst those

with a confirmed diagnosis should normally be graded S8, the original diagnosis may

have been in error and made because of unusual adolescent behaviour which has

resolved. In these doubtful cases referral is recommended. "

 

"The Hyperkinetic Disorders (F90)

 

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the crucial diagnosis in

this category. There is a large spectrum of troublesome behaviour in children and

adolescents that attracts this diagnosis. Many parents prefer ADHD to a label of bad

behaviour and GPs may be prepared to go along with this. Symptoms suggestive of

this disorder may also be part of normal adolescent behaviour. They may also be

presenting features for anxious or depressive disorders.

 

For an unambiguous diagnosis there must be an early onset (prior to the age of 7) with impaired

attention and overactivity, both of which occur in all kinds of locations (e.g. home,

school, sports centre, doctor?s surgery). The standard for judgement is that the

impaired attention and hyperactivity is excessive when compared with other children

of the same age and IQ.

 

This basic form of the genuine condition frequently

resolves with time, so recruitment may be permitted if there has been more than 3

years freedom from symptoms and off all medication prior to application.

 

If the basic condition is complicated with violent and/or delinquent behaviour

then such candidates should normally be graded S8 as current evidence indicates

that this form of the condition is much less likely to improve with time."

 

Notice how they are careful to say "normally" a lot to cover special cases.

[madme]

Thanks Warrenpenalver- it doesnt look good. I'm quite shocked that this is written in that way- where exactly can this be found if I were to google it? Do they seriously think that people outgrow Aspergers? As for suggesting that parents go looking for an ADHD dx!

[warrenpenalver]

you wont find it on google its from the source documents and specifically the "psychiatry" notes for medical standards for entry into the Armed Forces.

 

Its written for Doctors and medical professionals hence why its written that way. It is commonly known that some GP's do put diagnosis to appease parents. Remember the doctors who do the basic medical assessments are normal medical doctors not specialists who can be referred to for advice.