Military Spouse of the Day: Tameka Campbell

Today, we want to introduce you to Tameka Campbell, our Military Spouse of the Day.  Tameka is an Army spouse and is stationed in Georgia.

Tameka says her best experience that she has had with the military has been the people. Along with her husband, they have made lifelong friends who belong to a special group. “No one understands the sacrifice you make when you are a military spouse, unless you have been there. It is great to have people around you who understand how that feels, especially during a deployment.”

Tameka’s biggest special needs obstacle (aside from dealing with the initial autism diagnosis for two of their sons), she says, is learning how to deal with people and how they interact with your child. “We have had to deal with instances of bullying from both adults and children regarding our kids, so it makes you extremely over protective and always on guard. My oldest is 15 and it took me a long time to give him some independence, because I was afraid of someone being unkind to him. I hovered and smothered the poor kid until 7th grade.”

Tameka doesn’t really “de-stress” per se, but, whenever she can sneak off with her husband somewhere is always great. She takes care of herself by knowing when it’s time to take a breath and get out of her own head.  She does what she can and doesn’t worry about things that she has no control over. “I think most moms, in general, have that same issue, but when you are a mom of children with special needs, your goal in life is to fix everything you possibly can. Your child has so many issues that they must deal with that typical kids will never have to think about so you try to make the world around them a little more tolerable. But you have to just pray that you are getting it right and let God handle the rest.”

Tameka’s best advice to anyone that is new to the special needs world within the military is: “Have an extremely thick skin; join a group or find a support system that understands your situation and DO YOUR RESEARCH. You are your child’s voice, there is no one that wants your child to succeed more than you, so be prepared to advocate on their behalf.”

The Military Special Needs Network honors and salutes Tameka Campbell, our Military Spouse of the Day.  We thank you for being such a wonderful military spouse and an amazing advocate.