Some special resources have been added to our Little Troopers at School project. We have created some specific resources for schools and parents who have children with additional needs. Life has its challenges when you are part of a military family but the emotional rollercoaster can be even harder for children with special educational needs.

Louise Fetigan, founder of the Charity said “The lifestyle and fluidity of a military life is difficult for our children to understand. Talking helps but I wanted to ensure that we had resources that could help children who find it hard to talk or communicate due to additional needs. A military family can move every two years so for our schools it can be hard to truly get to know a child in such a short time. The additional needs resources have been developed to help start a conversation and develop communication around some of the challenges our children face.”

On our website you can find:

Talking mats – These mats are a communication framework for helping children with additional needs organise their thoughts and express their views about particular issues. Our mats have been created to help you talk through a number of military life issues such as Changing schools and when Mummy or Daddy is away.

Social stories – These are some short, simple descriptions of some military social situations. They have been developed as a tool to help understand the situation and what is to be expected of them.

Dictionary sheets – to help with word learning

Louise adds: “ Everything you need is on the website you just need to print them off and follow the instructions. If you find them useful please help us spread the word.”