STOMP your way to better parenting

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Christine Griffiths
  • 100 Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  There are approximately 386 military families from RAF Mildenhall with dependents who require special education or health care needs. From Sept. 8 to 9, the Airman and Family Readiness Center will be hosting a Specialized Training of Military Parents workshop for those families with special needs.

The STOMP program is created to help families dealing with distinct challenges with their dependent.

Every year the Air Force sends experts to help families through these challenges. This year RAF Mildenhall and Spangdahlem Air Base were the only two bases selected to host these events.

Elisabeth Leath, 100th Force Support Squadron Exceptional Family Member Program coordinator, mentioned the trainers are spouses who have dependents with special needs. The material being taught will be based on the knowledge they have attained through their own life experiences and that they will be teaching parents how they can advocate for their children throughout the workshop.

The two-day workshop will consist of topics on basic educational rights; Home Files and Records; Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act rights; Individual Education Programs; Communication; Supplemental Security Income; Networking; Advocacy; TRICARE and ECHO; and Wills and Guardianship.

"It's interactive," Leath said. "There will be PowerPoint presentations, but there will also be brainstorming sessions. The good thing is that our early intervention group from the medical group will be there and we'll have reps from the schools there. So if there are issues that are being voiced, and its being voiced by more than one person, it's likely that those issues will be routed and taken care of. So it's a good forum for them to get the ideas from the families as to the struggles that they are having."

The workshop is open to Department of Defense ID card holders.

"If you have a kid with special needs you should be there," she said. "It's just great information to have and really is an investment. This is a toolkit to be successful."

To register for the STOMP workshop or for more information, contact Elisabeth Leath at DSN 238-3406, commercial at 01638-543406 or by email at 100fss.efmp@mildenhall.af.mil.