DVDs Address Deployment Issues for Military Children

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DVDs Address Deployment Issues for Military Children
April 30, 2008
No. 08-39


FALLS CHURCH, VA. - Military pediatricians and youth professionals developed
DVDs to help military children understand and deal with the emotions related
to a family member's deployment.

The United States Army Medical Command and the American Academy of
Pediatrics produced "Military Youth Coping with Separation: When Family
Members Deploy," to address a variety of deployment-related concerns for
teens. For elementary age children there is a, "Mr. Poe and Friends Discuss
Reunion After Deployment" DVD. The animated host, Mr. Poe, mentors and
provides guidance to children and family members as they discuss deployment.

Maj. Keith Lemmon, an Army pediatrician and adolescent medicine
subspecialist, first became aware of the need for more support for deployed
families when he was sent to Afghanistan in 2002. The experiences of Maj.
Lemmon and his family during his deployment inspired him to address the
affects of deployment on adolescents. His wife, a teacher, suffered with
situational depression and his son's behavior changed negatively. While
"Military Youth Coping with Separation" tackles numerous issues teens face
during deployment including fear of injury or death, stress brought about by
changes in the home, it also offers coping techniques for dealing with the
absence of a parent or loved one.

"Our goal is to reduce the anxiety and fear surrounding a military
deployment, and let children know they are not alone in the struggles their
families are facing," said Lemmon.

Lemmon decided to make the DVD peer to peer, with teenagers relating their
own deployment-related stories and offering advice. "We know adolescents are
more comfortable discussing these kinds of emotional issues with each other
rather than adults," Lemmon said.

Cameron Lucke, a teen whose family experienced deployment, guides viewers
through candid interviews with other military teens. The interviews capture
true feelings and coping strategies of military youth. Teens interviewed
advise their peers to listen to the deployed parent rather than the media or
to avoid watching the news completely. They also encouraged others facing
the same issues to speak to someone. Recommended sources of support are
family members, friends or trusted adults, such as a teacher or their
doctor.

For younger children, "Mr. Poe and Friends," uses cartoon characters to talk
about deployment issues. The animated host, Mr. Poe, interacts with families
at the airport as they await the return of their deployed loved ones. The
video features the voices of real military children, parents, and youth
serving professionals who have experienced deployment.

Both videos are available for online viewing on the American Academy of
Pediatrics Deployment Support Web site at
www.aap.org/ sections/ unifserv/ deployment/ index.htm. They are also available
for ordering, in DVD format, through Military One Source at 1-800-342-9647
or http://www.military onesource. com/skins/ MOS/home. aspx


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SOURCE: TRICARE Web Site at http://www.tricare. mil