What wounded vets and special needs kids have in common
With Bob Woodruff's triumphant return to ABC broadcasting this week, the network has been running stories about the trials and tribulations of American veterans who return from Iraq and Afghanistan with crippling injuries, and what these young men and women go through after they return with everything from missing limbs to traumatic brain injuries.
To hear the spouses and families of some of these vets talking, it seems that the issues they're dealing with aren't entirely different from the problems that families often face when their children are diagnosed with special needs. In short, families have trouble accessing services, knowing what services are available, and making sure that all the government agencies and public health care they're entitled to are all pulling in the same direction.
So don't think the problems that vets have getting health care, occupational and physical therapy and assistance from the Veteran's Administration is unique only to them. These problems seem endemic to just about anyone who depends on a government bureaucracy in order to get services.