When dad’s deployed, there’s no distraction good enough to trump that reality.

But there are some that make it more bearable.

“I’m not so good at drawing, so I wondered if I took this class, if I might become a good drawer,” 8-year-old Emma Speakes said on a recent afternoon as she penciled a masterpiece for her father, Air Force Maj. James Speakes.

She and her siblings, Lucie and Oscar, were students at a new adaptive cartooning class offered by Peterson Air Force Base’s Exceptional Family Member Program.

The military-wide program connects dependents with medical care, resources and special programs such as the art class.

Young Picassos such as Emma, who has autism, and their siblings are welcome at the four-week class, which gives kids with disabilities a chance to indulge their creativity while surrounded by those who understand what it’s like to be different — and to have a parent in uniform.

“It doesn’t matter if the kids are great artists or not,” said Jackie Wickham, family support specialist with the base’s Airman and Family Readiness Center. “In normal situations, the expectation of children in this type of class is very strict. But the instructor isn’t going to get upset if kids get up and walk around during a class.”

Key to the class’ success are its small size and a patient instructor who understands the wide variety of conditions those in the program deal with, from physical disabilities to invisible conditions like chronic illness, food allergies and autism, Wickham said.

As some students munched on snacks, spoke out of turn or made animal noises, instructor Trish Mosser, the wife of a deployed soldier and mother to two special needs children, didn’t flinch.

“Good girl,” Mosser encouraged one student as she walked around the classroom.

“It’s OK. You can erase,” she reassured another.

When Mosser surveyed Lucie Speakes’ portrait, she gasped.

“He’s about to blow his pupils out!” she said of Lucie’s downward-sledding polar bear with a blank stare. “He must be going super fast.

“Add some pupils in there.”

Lucie giggled.

The 8-year-old with a blond bob was at class to keep sister Emma company.

She’d decided to kill two birds with one stone and create a picture for their dad, who’s deployed to southwest Asia.

“I think he’s going to love it,” she said with a satisfied smile.

Emma and Lucie’s brother, Oscar, had the same idea.

“I’ll send one of my pictures to him soon,” he said.

For the children’s mom, Sarah Speakes, the class provides welcome respite and a chance to network with other parents of special needs kids.

Speakes said she was amazed at how well Mosser managed her students.

“She’s keeping all of the kids on track. It’s not all loud and crazy,” Speakes said.

Because Mosser understands the children, she has a connection with them, Wickham said.

Mosser “tries to concentrate on what the kids can do, not what they can’t,” Wickham said.

“With art, there’s no right or wrong. No matter what they do, it’s beautiful.”

Lucie Speakes, 8, listens to instructor Trish Mosser during an adaptive cartooning art class in March at Peterson Air Force Base. Photo by Erin Prater, The Gazette