Articles on Scouting with special needs and disabilities
This is an excerpt from the Special Needs and Disabilities Inclusion Toolbox being developed by the National Special Needs and Disabilities Committee (NSNDC). The Toolbox will replace the 2007 Scouting for Youth with Disabilities Manual. Every willing Scout should have opportunity to get in and onto the water and have fun. Opportunities for recreational time... Continue Reading →
Camping can provide many successes and experiences youth would never get to experience if not for Scouting. Camping with youth who have disabilities can be challenging. Going into the experience with insight can make the experience more successful. Here are a few tips to get parents, the Scout’s leadership, and the Scout prepared for an... Continue Reading →
The national office has recently issued a clarification about youth with special needs sharing a tent with parents if there are health and safety reasons to do so. The statement appears as a “frequently asked question” in the “Youth Protection and Barriers to Abuse FAQs.” (scouting.org/health-and-safety/yp-faqs/) Q. Can I share a tent with my son... Continue Reading →
This article appeared in the Fall 2020 issue of Abilities Digest. Special needs and disabilities are all around us. There are many of us who have disabilities, but by looking at us, one cannot tell. In the next few months, we all will be either recruiting or joining a new unit. With that in mind,... Continue Reading →
The following was a response to a problem encountered by a Scout parent. It originally appeared in the Summer 2020 issue of Abilities Digest. Here is the dilemma: the Scout has immunization problems and the Scout’s physician suggests the Scout be isolated while camping. The unit leadership does not agree. Having a special needs child... Continue Reading →
This article appeared in the Summer 2020 issue of Abilities Digest. When a group of young friends reach Scouting age, there is often a discussion of whether to join a pack or troop, and then which one to join. Parents get involved, and careful parents will try to identify the best unit for their own... Continue Reading →
You have a den full of very active WEBELOS. You have discovered they are mostly kids who have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). and a couple of them are “on the spectrum” too. You don’t really know what all of this labeling means; all you see are the results of whatever it... Continue Reading →
This article from Scouting Magazine discusses the work in assistive technology by adult Eagle Scouts Buddy Marshall (left) and Mark Chilutti. Mark Chilutti is a member of the BSA's National Special Needs and Disabilities Committee. https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2020/12/17/how-two-eagle-scouts-are-making-assistive-technology-more-accessible/
Philmont offers two events next summer highlighting special needs and disabilities in Scouting: the Zia Experience and the training conference.
New Scout Orientations are meetings held by Scoutmasters or Cubmasters with their groups of new Scouts. The meetings let Scouts and parents know what the ins and outs of their new Scouting unit entail. During the orientation, the leadership may discuss the frequency of meetings, the intent of activities, the rank requirement sequences, the outing... Continue Reading →
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