New pack geared for boys with autism

[Pesco 10]

Hello, I've been a long-time lurker or scouter.com. Just wanted to introduce myself and talk about our new effort and hopefully get some comments and general advice. I'm sure I'll be asking specific questions when they come up, but maybe people could help me avoid some common pitfalls.

 

My son is now 8. He is diagnosed with autism and had a very hard time last year with participating in our den and pack activities. I volunteered and was the den leader, but despite the best of intentions of all the adult leaders there were a number of reasons participation in that typical pack was difficult.

 

My wife started an autism charity & community group and she asked if I would take on creating a Pack chartered by her new org. Jump ahead a few months and we're an officially registered pack with 5 registered boys and 6 adult leaders (all parents). We are about to start our program, although I really need to consult with the other parents and help delegate some of that development. Any tips, pointers, or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

On a related topic, the organization my wife started, called Autism Fellowship, has an online message board. The website is http://www.autismfellowship.com. The forum link is on the left. I've created a specific forum on the message board called "Scouting with Autism" where I'd like to pull together the efforts people have made to provide scouting programs for boys with autism in typical and specialized units. The direct link to that forum is here: http://forum.autismfellowship.com/viewforum.php?f=16 The whole message board is only a couple months old, and I haven't had the chance to add much scouting content yet.

 

Also, I'd like to publicly thank Starwolfmom who wrote an article published in Scouting Magazine in September 2006. It can be located here: http://www.scoutingmagazine.org/issues/0609/a-boys.html The article did a great job of raising awareness of autism in the Scouting community.

 

Thanks in advance to everyone for their feedback.

~Pesco

[Pesco 10]

Hm. I had a hard time editing my post. I was getting a syntax error.

 

I just wanted to clarify that our pack is in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. (That's Tidewater Council)

[insanescouter 10]

Wow, sounds like a great idea and a challenging but rewarding project ...

 

If there are any ways that InsaneScouter or myself may be of help, please feel free to contact me ...

 

 

Scott Robertson

http://insanescouter.org

Helping leaders one resource at a time ...

 

[mtm25653 10]

Good luck, and thank you for taking this on - it will be more rewarding than you can imagine.

 

I had one autistic boy in my Webelos den - 1st grade reading level and very shy. I structured things so there was no reading/writing required at den meetings (his mom would read his handbook to him). He gradually got more involved, and earned his AOL. Five and a half years later, he is almost a Life scout and has been to Philmont. He will look you in the eye when he speaks to you now, and will initiate conversations with boys and adults in the troop. I have 2 Eagle scout sons (and one Life working on Eagle), but I am more proud of that scout, and the small part I played in bringing him out of his shell, than I am of my boys.

[eolesen 10]

Best of luck -- we have an all-autistic unit in my area of the district which formed earlier this year for many of the same reasons. So far, things are going great according to the committee chair, and they're getting ready to recharter with 15 members, and they have another 10 boys who have been attending on a somewhat regular basis but haven't yet registered. An autism charter school is sponsoring the pack, so I know they'll be a success with that type of support (and natural feed!).

 

If you want to send me a private message, I will see if the DE and committee chair are willing to share some of their startup stories...