As the father of a child with special needs, this week’s Your Next Mission® podcast episode is extremely near and dear to my heart. Michelle Norman is the Founder and Executive Director of Partners in PROMISE, a nonprofit organization dedicated to elevating the concerns of special education students and their Families to ensure the same access to education and medical care as their civilian peers.

About Partners in PROMISE

It started with personal experiences. Michelle, a Navy spouse for more than 25 years, saw a gap in support for military special needs Families. After successfully advocating and winning a six-year multi-case legal battle to ensure her daughter with multiple disabilities received the minimum education by law, she decided to personally aid this underrepresented subsect of the military community. In 2020, Partners in Protecting the Right Of Military children in Special Education (PROMISE) was born. Michelle fights every day to ensure that the voices of special needs Families are heard, and these important problems are solved at the defense-level.

Their team is comprised of Special Education advocates, a Special Education attorney, former Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) staff, educators, researchers, and journalists who have personal experience with special education and are dedicated to helping to inform and educate the community. Michelle, alongside other active duty military spouses, leads with insight. Many of those on the staff have been in the special needs community for nearly 20 years, fighting through the complexity of special education and medical care.

Understanding the Challenge

As you all know, the military lifestyle is full of challenges such as deployments, moving and day-to-day training that puts stress on Families. Parents with children who have special needs are even more impacted due to unstandardized exceptional family member programs and lacking medical care across the services. Geographical single parents are left to deal with the lonely challenges of taking care of the home while also fighting for appropriate care for their children when their Servicemember is away from home. A shocking 97 percent of military Families reported experiencing some or all negative school experiences with public school education.

Compounding this stress even more is the stigma that is associated with enrolling in exceptional Family member programs. Servicemembers are often afraid that seeking assistance will impact their careers or limit their assignment options. When I reflect on my own career, I realize that I also feared that telling people about my own Family’s situation would affect my promotions. However, studies have shown the opposite is closer to the truth. Families who have support are more likely to stay in the military to help stabilize their care.

Filling the Gap

Over the past two years, Partners in PROMISE has been working to gather data that supplements informational gaps in military transition and attitudes surrounding Families with special needs. Leaders across the Department of Defense want to help. Partners in PROMISE wants to lead the charge. If you have special needs in your Family, there are things that you can do to strengthen this cause too.

1. Complete and Share Surveys. This critical information can be named or anonymous and helps to direct the attention of leaders to the highest needs.
2. Reach Out. Don’t be afraid to connect with other Families. It’s important to build a community of support for each other.
3. Talk About Your Needs. Often, leaders don’t understand the level of support that is needed. You can help to inform and educate them by voicing your individual needs and making sure they are well documented.

If you need assistance or a community of support, check out the Partners in PROMISE website. You can also get in touch with them to stay connected and receive updates on the latest news in the military special education community.

For More Information

Watch the full Partners in PROMISE podcast episode on our website or on our YouTube channel.

Your Next Mission® video podcast was created to provide a resource to help Veterans and families through their transition from military to civilian life, and to help educate America about the military. YNM has proudly covered topics with some incredible guests ranging from transition, mental health, education, financial wellness, the military family, Veteran Affairs benefits to numerous charitable organizations serving our Veterans and families, a Medal of Honor recipient, Veterans Treatment Court, extraordinary stories of war and eight (8) U.S. Army Installation Commands including U.S. Forces Command and the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command.