NeedHelp

Yes we are all volunteers and need to know how to help but there are various levels of involvement from the volunteers as well. Some are much more committed than others and more willing to help and do whatever it takes. This brings to mind a question. What does everyone else use as a leader to scout ratio when dealing with these kids with Special Needs (formally diagnosed and disclosed or not)? It is clear to me that the 2 deep leadership is not enough for a den of 7 boys and don't assume the parents are willing to help. They aren't.

Thanks for everyone's comments and suggestions. I'll look into some of the things and have already tried some of the suggestions (to no avail). Thanks again. I don't have any real data about this being a youth protection issue. There just isn't any connection between parent and child (this can be seem with the younger brother as well). At camp family night, the parent camp up and while everyone was hugging their scouts etc, this dad shook his son's hand, did not go on the WEBELOS II hike with his son, didn't sit with him at campfire and then packed him up and off they went. Very sad yet his immediate leaders are getting very tired of his behavior and the drain it has.

This particular's boys parents "aren't into being parents right now" (a quote from dad himself) so there is no guidance from that point. I just see the boy being more frustrated and leaving once he enters Boys Scouts. He will stay with the Den until they Crossover. I'm more concerned that he'll be enrolled in Boys Scouts and not be able to handle it at all. He cannot do anything independently and even when Dad is present he does nothing at all to interact with his son. He will likely go to a troop that I am going to be heavily involved in (Husband is the new SM) so I can see where this will end up. I feel truly bad for this child but his behavior is terrible and immature. I know that at this point in his life, he can't help it - his behvior isn't willful

I need some advice as this is a tricky issue and I can't really find it addressed anywhere. What do you do in a situation where you have knowledge of an individual scouts special needs and the information isn't disclosed on any medical forms and the parent does not list any medications? The leaders are not aware or knowledgeable of the needs and either think the child is just a pain in the rear or make no attempt to help the child because they really don't know how?(naturally we are not talking about a physical disability but ones of a more emotional/behviorial variety) For some of these kids, dealing with them in the same way you would any child that is misbehaving backfires and causes an escalation in the situation and the behavior of the scout(s) casues everyone to not enjoy the scouting event. I don't want to be long winded but with confidentiality etc and not having obtained information in a scout capacity, I'm really noodling on this. You don't want to punish the scouts and exclude them and the parents are usually not ones who will attend functions or step in themselves to help out. Any thoughts and past experiences would be greatly appreciated. I dont' want to be long winded

No one wants him or any other boys out of Cub Scouts - I just want to make sure that the child is in the correct place. More specifically, even though the child may be entering 5th grade and be in the targeted age spread, emotional maturity comes into play. I'd rather see a scout remain in Cub Scouts longer than moving them into Boy Scouts when they don't have the maturity to succeed and will get very discouraged and possibly quit when scouting is something that can probably be a great help.

I have a question....If a boy has been held back and is a WEBELOS (joined as WEBELOS I), at what age is he too old to still be a WEBELOS and need to join Boy Scouts?