Cub Scouts?
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Cub Scouts?
| Fri, 09-14-2007 - 5:59am |
Does anyone have their Aspie enrolled in cub scouts? I was thinking of signing my son up as a way to get him away from video games for a few hours a week. Is it a huge

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YES!! 100% try it!! Cub scouts has been the saving of my Aspie. I thought he'd hate it, but DH persuaded me to let him try it, and he absolutely adores it. It's a really structured and safe environment in which to teach social skills. DH loves the uniforms, the boundaries, the clear expectations, the structure, the routines, but also really benefits from the challenges: the physical activities, working towards badges, understanding the history and structure of it. And campouts have been a revelation: again, I thought he'd hate it (being physically uncomfortable, having to share space with other kids, the opportunities for being teased) but he came back (absolutely filthy and covered in midge bites) absolutely ecstatic and raring to go the next one. It's really helped him make friends in a new area. Our psych calls is 'social scaffolding', giving him a structured environment in which to learn skills that come easily to other kids.
Most troupes let you try it for a few weeks before you commit, and I don't know what your local troupes are like but here there is as much or as little parental involvement as you want, so if your DH doesn't want to be involved he doesn't need to go on campouts. I'd try it, honestly, it's been a revelation to me and my Aspie loves it, and as you say, it gets them away from the TV!
Kirsty
My just-turned-9yo ds is in cub scouts. He's enrolled in a small church unit that doesn't do the campouts, though I think my ds would enjoy campouts since he enjoys camping with the family.
I've let the cub leaders know about ds AS dx. I told them that ds should be allowed to try all of the activities but that he might struggle to keep up on some of them due to his motor skill challenges. I've also asked for more supervision on some activities (they used knives to do whittling/carving on bars of soap).
Ds really enjoys cub scouts. Not only does it give him a change of scenery during the week, but it gives him a sense of belonging to a group. You also get rewarded for accomplishing goals (beads and uniform patches). At least at the younger ages, most of the merit badge goals are accomplished at home with parents, so you can make it as hard or easy depending on your cub's needs.
For instance, because my 9yo AS ds struggles to hammer, let alone to hammer straight while holding two pieces of wood together, we gave him an extremely simple project. He built a "bike ramp" for his little sister which consisted of hammering one cross support under a piece of scrap plywood. He had to hammer about 4 nails, which took him nearly an hour and a lot of patience. Later 11yo NT ds added another cross support since there was too much sag as you rode over the plywood. It took the 11yo about 5 minutes to do the same thing it took 9yo ds an hour to do. However, we felt fully justified in signing off on 9yo merit badge goal because he expended a lot of effort and fulfilled the obligation. When my 11yo ds had to build something using hammer/nails, we gave him a more complicated project that too HIM time and effort.
Also, the leaders have the authority to modify requirements for special needs kids. One of the physical fitness requirements was for ds to do a frontwards and backwards sommersault. We practiced and practiced, but he just couldn't do it. The leaders allowed him alternative physical fitness goals instead.
I'd definitely say give it a try.
As a mom of
Thanks for all your replies. It sounds like it is exactly what I was looking for. I think my son is going to love it. I'm going to sign him up tonight!
I was just wondering this same thing! My ds has been really bugging me to sign him up. We are going to the meeting Monday night. I checked into a few of the local groups and chose the one that is with a local church. I am really nervous about it but am going to let him try it out. I will let you know how it goes!
carey
You've had tons of great replies already, but I just wanted to add my 2 cents. My nearly 9-year-old Aspie is entering his third year in cub scouts. This organization has saved him. We moved to a new state just before he started 2nd grade (he's in 4th now). He's had an incredibly hard time making friends or finding a place to fit, and school has just gotten socially harder and harder for him over the years. But Cub Scouts has been amazing. The leaders have all really done a great job of including him in everything, of moderating requirements to suit his special needs, and of just accepting him for who he is. The organization as a whole - in our experience - is really inclusive and accepting. The other boys in his den have really accepted him, and for the first time since we moved here, he's being invited for play dates and birthday parties. He's thrilled.
My DH is like yours - he doesn't understand DS's disabilities, doesn't relate well to him, and also hates being outside for some reason. But the parent involvement doesn't have to come from dad. Our pack does an annual campout for the cub scouts, and every year, I've been the parent who goes - and I wasn't the only mom there. This year, DS is a Webelo, so we'll be camping more ... and it'll be me going on every trip, not DH. I enjoy it as a way to get some special time with DS. And he just loves it. All that outdoor time is GREAT for him. Eases his ADHD symptoms, helps him focus. He spent a week this summer at a cub scout daycamp - outside all day at different tasks, some of them really hard for him (BB shooting, archery, whittling) - but that whole week I got only one call from the camp that he'd had a tantrum. That day it was 100 degrees outside and they gave him some water and cooled him off and he was just fine!
So I love the cub scouts. I've got two more non-AS kids behind this one, and you bet I'll be encouraging them to get into scouting! I'd recommend it for every child.
Marike
That's great Carey,
I'm a little nervous too. Anyway it will give the boys one more thing to write about!
Henry came home from school last year all excited about Scouts after a presentation. We signed him up, and I was ready for him to bond with his daddy by way of Scouting. It turned out that dh was completely unprepared for the realization that his son was VERY different from the other children. He had ZERO patience or understanding when Henry wanted to just watch an activity. Henry started having a meltdown every single Monday evening when it was time for Scouts.
Until . . . I started taking him. Then he always had a good time and didn't complain about going. We finished out the year, and he has decided not to continue this year. I don't know how old your son is, but 1st grade is an excellent time to try Scouting because it is mandatory that each child's parent stay for all the meetings.
Good luck!
LOL, you mean they might write about something besides gameboy??? Hehehe. We went to the meeting tonight, and Wes was ok with it so far. The only question he had was "do we get to wear those sweet uniforms?" LOL!!!
Carey
Well Christopher has no interest in group activity's.
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