Re: broken heart need your ideas

[Guest guest]

My son is homeschooled and my local homeschool group has a scouts

group with mostly homeschooled kids. My experience has been that

many homeschoolers are more accepting of difference. Tammy F.

I know this will

happen other places as well, but Cub Scouts is a place

where diversity, especially special needs, should be

welcome and accepted. They even have a manual for the

special needs population (I believe it's pretty old

and not as much for autism related topics, but it is

to help those feel included). Please make sure you

share this w/the cub leader and possibly the higher

ups. They want and need to know this. As the Scouts

grow older, many drop out who are more athletically

inclined and it usually leaves the quirky, brainy,

etc., kids who still need a place to feel they belong,

so this is a great opportunity for our children. I

think so much of this comes down to the den leaders

and what I noticed when we did scouts was that the

leaders were not used to really watching the kids to

see how they interacted with each other...everybody

seems happy, everybody's fine. Just like w/other

places, it's just a matter of educating the

leaders/teachers and other parents. Also, what I found

out was there are troupes that may have more

experience with different kids than your neighborhood

troupe. For us, we didn't stay in it after a similar

experience to yours, and then we got into other extra

curricular activities, but I did find out that there

was another group close to us that had more kids with

special needs. My sister's son who has Down syndrome

has been in their areas Scout group for 4 years and

they've had good experiences...he even won the pine

derby race last weekend. If your son enjoys the

activities that Cub Scouts provides, seek out the

higher ups in your areas troupes and visit with them

about what might work for your son.

[Guest guest]

My son is homeschooled and my local homeschool group has a scouts

group with mostly homeschooled kids. My experience has been that

many homeschoolers are more accepting of difference. Tammy F.

I know this will

happen other places as well, but Cub Scouts is a place

where diversity, especially special needs, should be

welcome and accepted. They even have a manual for the

special needs population (I believe it's pretty old

and not as much for autism related topics, but it is

to help those feel included). Please make sure you

share this w/the cub leader and possibly the higher

ups. They want and need to know this. As the Scouts

grow older, many drop out who are more athletically

inclined and it usually leaves the quirky, brainy,

etc., kids who still need a place to feel they belong,

so this is a great opportunity for our children. I

think so much of this comes down to the den leaders

and what I noticed when we did scouts was that the

leaders were not used to really watching the kids to

see how they interacted with each other...everybody

seems happy, everybody's fine. Just like w/other

places, it's just a matter of educating the

leaders/teachers and other parents. Also, what I found

out was there are troupes that may have more

experience with different kids than your neighborhood

troupe. For us, we didn't stay in it after a similar

experience to yours, and then we got into other extra

curricular activities, but I did find out that there

was another group close to us that had more kids with

special needs. My sister's son who has Down syndrome

has been in their areas Scout group for 4 years and

they've had good experiences...he even won the pine

derby race last weekend. If your son enjoys the

activities that Cub Scouts provides, seek out the

higher ups in your areas troupes and visit with them

about what might work for your son.