Honoring Resilience: Hope, Military Children, and Autism Awareness
April holds profound significance. It’s a month that reminds us to celebrate resilience, raise awareness, and lead with hope. As we recognize both the Month of the Military Child and Autism Awareness Month, (both dear to me as my daughter is a military child and my first grandson cherub is on the mild end of the spectrum), we are called to pause and reflect on the strength and stories of the children who embody courage in the quietest, most powerful ways.
Military children live a unique life—one shaped by frequent moves, parental deployments, and the constant hum of uncertainty. They grow up learning to adapt quickly, say goodbye too often, and hold tight to traditions in unfamiliar places. Their roots aren’t tied to geography, but to the love and bonds within their families. And through all of it, they develop remarkable strength, empathy, and flexibility that many adults strive to achieve.
Now imagine adding the complexities of autism to that life. For military families raising children on the autism spectrum, the challenges multiply. Autism is a spectrum, and no two journeys are the same. It affects how a child experiences the world—how they communicate, connect, and express themselves. For military families, accessing consistent care, therapies, and educational support while moving every few years becomes a logistical and emotional mountain to climb.
But this is where hope comes in.
Hope is the constant. It’s the force that moves parents to advocate fiercely for their child’s needs. It’s what fuels communities to become more inclusive, educators to adapt with empathy, and employers and service providers to build better systems. Hope is what keeps a military parent going after another IEP meeting or a relocation that means starting all over again with a new set of providers and schools.
In the intersection of military life and autism, hope is not passive—it is an action. It looks like flexible care solutions that travel with the family. It looks like neighbors who offer understanding instead of judgment. It looks like a hiring manager who recognizes the brilliance in neurodiversity or a school that prioritizes acceptance over assimilation.
As a society, we have a responsibility to do more than just raise awareness, we must foster real inclusion. That means advocating for better policies that support continuity of care for military families. It means expanding training so educators and employers can support autistic individuals with the respect and dignity they deserve. And it means recognizing and celebrating the incredible contributions that both military children and those with autism bring to our communities.
This April, let’s choose to honor the resilience of military children, embrace the diversity of the autism spectrum, and most importantly—lead with hope. Because when we create a world where all children are seen, supported, and valued for exactly who they are, we build something stronger than any single service branch, diagnosis, or challenge.
We build community. We build understanding. We build a future grounded in hope for all of us.
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Why Stress Awareness Is a Business Imperative, Not Just a Buzzword
April marks Stress Awareness Month, and as a retired HR Executive, I’m reminded of something that often gets buried beneath KPIs, deliverables, and quarterly goals: our people are human. And humans, especially in today’s fast-paced, hyper-connected world, are under immense pressure. We see it in missed deadlines, increased absenteeism, and more subtly—in the eyes of our most dedicated team members, quietly burning out while still showing up.
Stress doesn’t just impact individuals. It affects team cohesion, innovation, and ultimately, the bottom line. According to the American Institute of Stress, job stress is the major source of stress for American adults, and it continues to escalate. It leads to costly turnover, lost productivity, and a culture that can quietly erode from the inside out if not addressed.
That’s why stress awareness isn’t just an HR initiative – it’s a business strategy.
As leaders, it’s our responsibility to create a culture where mental wellness is prioritized alongside performance. That begins with awareness but must extend to action. Are we training our managers to recognize signs of burnout? Are we offering flexibility where it counts? Are we listening—really listening—to what our employees need? In my experience, we’ve implemented regular wellness check-ins, increased access to mental health resources, and created space for open conversations about stress without stigma. But more than programs, it’s about leadership modeling empathy, vulnerability, and balance.
Let me be clear: this isn’t about being soft. It’s about being smart. A workforce that feels supported is more engaged, creative, and loyal. When people feel safe to show up as their whole selves, on the hard days as well as the high-performing ones, that’s when real innovation happens.
We need to redefine what strength looks like at work. It’s not pushing through at all costs. It’s knowing when to pause, ask for help, or take a breath. As business leaders, we set the tone. If we dismiss stress as weakness or ignore it altogether, we give silent permission for everyone else to do the same.
This month, I encourage every HR professional and business leader to take a hard look at their workplace culture. Not just the policies in place, but the lived experience of your people. Ask yourself: Are we talking about stress openly? Are we equipping our leaders to support well-being? And most importantly – are we walking the talk?
Because the truth is, supporting mental wellness isn’t just the right thing to do. It’s the smart thing. And the sooner we treat it like a business imperative, not just a bullet point in the employee handbook, the healthier and more resilient our organizations will become.
Let’s use Stress Awareness Month not just to acknowledge the problem – but to lead the change.
