lack of medical training or expertise to allow her to form a medical judgment regarding the cause of her son ' s illness . The Board finds no competent medical evidence linking the Veteran ' s son ' s illness to her military service , and no indication that the Veteran ' s post - service life stressors , which have clearly been shown to be the cause of her current psychiatric disorder , are related to her service in any way . The Board also acknowledges that there are special provisions pertaining to corroboration of PTSD based on personal assault in service . See 38 C . F . R . § 3 . 304 ( f ) ( 5 ) . The Veteran has indicated that