Military Special Needs Network
Proudly Supporting all Military Families with a Special Needs Dependent
Military Spouse of the Day: Juanita Johnson
Today, we would like to introduce you to Juanita Johnson, our wonderful Military Spouse of the Day. Juanita is a Navy veteran and her spouse is active duty Coast Guard. They are currently stationed in Washington, DC.
Juanita says her best experience with military life has been the opportunity to meet so many interesting people. We agree – the military community certainly becomes our family. Juanita says the biggest obstacle they faced with special needs was initially coming to the diagnosis of her daughter. She says, “for several years I knew something was “wrong” and oftentimes my concerns were ignored. The end result was that my daughter was diagnosed with autism very late, (9 years old) this has set us back several years of lost time and opportunity for therapy and necessary academic intervention.” The diagnosis wasn’t so much a shock, but finally a relief for Juanita’s family, and it set them on a path to finally getting help for their daughter. “Our biggest blessing from this diagnosis has been the fact that I honestly have found some of my best friends through autism- my friends are incredibly smart, talented & beyond funny had it not been for my daughter’s diagnosis I would have never met them.”
Juanita says that she de-stresses by exercising and crafting, as well as planning events for their local support group.
Juanita says that her best advice to new families in the special needs military world is to “cry, scream do whatever you have to do to mourn your “diagnosis” but after that you need to reach out to others in similar circumstances ask a ton of questions lean on someone’s shoulder and even learn to laugh at the nuances and eventually you will become that person that people look too for guidance embrace it. Give back to your community and help others through their journey.”
The Military Special Needs Network honors and salutes Juanita Johnson as our Military Spouse of the Day. We thank you for being such a wonderful military spouse and an amazing advocate.
Military Special Needs Network 