The COPE course was not the only focus of disability adaptations at Philmont Training Center last summer. Instructors and participants in the DIVERSEability and DisABILITY training course experienced several other adaptations. Long-time PTC instructor Scott Hellen (on left) was pleased to find the classrooms already prepared for individuals in wheelchairs. In a previous summer the PTC staff had produced wood blocks to raise table heights to better fit wheelchairs and the blocks were already installed when the course staff arrived. New picnic tables better accommodated people in wheelchairs as well as others with mobility problems.
Philmont
Adapting the COPE Challenge at Philmont
Last summer, Scouter Angela Glunt participated in the Philmont training course DIVERSEability and DisABILITY. Here are her experiences in adapting the COPE Challenge for people with disabiilities.
Our class was approached by the COPE team and asked if we would be willing to participate in the COPE Course in order to help develop strategies for assisting Scouts with special needs. The goal was to show the struggles a Scout with special needs might encounter during the event.
Our group was very excited for the opportunity to engage in this adventure. We split our class in half. One group took the Lower Course and the other took the Upper Course. Each group member exhibited the characteristics of a different disability. By helping the staff, as if aiding a Scout with special needs, they were able to gain knowledge through the hands-on experience.
Abilities Digest: Late Fall Edition
Here is Volume 5, Number 4 of Abilities Digest. Highlights include:
- Adapting Activities: DisAbility adaptations for the COPE Challenge and course experience at the Philmont Training Center.
- Adapting Advancement: Perspectives on advancement as a method, not a mission, and on achievable challenges.
- Recognizing Abilities: Every council may present a Torch of Gold Award annually; Nominations for the 2019 Woods Services Award are due December 31; Earning the Special Needs Scouting Service Award.
Philmont Training: DIVERSEability and DisABILITY
What: DIVERSEability and DisABILITY – How to apply proper methods in Scouting with Special Needs.
Where: Philmont Training Center
When: PTC Course Week 8 (July 29-August 4)
This course is for Scouters, Staff, and parents that have a passion for helping Scouts with DisAbilities become involved in all that Scouting has to offer. This course will help you to; start or strengthen a Disabilities Awareness Committee within your Council, show Scout Leaders proper procedures, modifications, resources, and supports that can help our Scouts with Special Needs experience the outing in Scouting. See how you can help Scouts; advance at all levels, experience programming, feel included and empowered to make a difference in the lives of others along with helping their communities.
