Disabilities Awareness MB

[Mike Long]

I guess to narrow down my question further...

 

When does the term disabled apply to someone with a medical condition? (perception)

 

Is it enough to merely be diagnosed with the condition?

Example: My wife controls her diabetes with diet and exercise. My brother is lucky enough to have shaky hands and a foot that ever so slightly drags as he walks (most peolpe notice the hands and think he is a nervous guy but no one but my parents and I notice the drag.) Obviously in both cases their conditions affect their life very little.

 

Is disabled a matter of the severity of the condition? (degree)

Example: My neighbor who has no hands, kids with ADD ADHD who can't focus long enought to do even the most basic of tasks, Asthmatics and folks with allergies so bad that sudden movement triggers attacks.

 

I have always thought that disabled referred to folks with conditions (physical, mental and emotional) that profoundly affect their ability to function in the day to day workings of their life and their interactions with society.

 

Am I wrong? Who should we approach this with our boys? (and our own interactions)

[Rooster7]

Mike,

 

I with you...Your accessment seems reasonable. Although, there's probably a fair amount of grey area here. A disability for one person may not be so for another... To some extent, it may be how well a person is able to adapt to their circumstances.

[OldGreyEagle]

Rooster,

 

did you know ADD is familial prone? Doesnt quite mean there is an ADD gene, but it does mean it runs in families. And yes, I am ADD, as a child all I remember is being told what "potential" I had if I would only apply myself, what talent I had if I would only concentrate. Well, I was one of the lucky ones, I was able to work around my tendency not to be able to focus. others in my classes were not, they were labeled inncorrigible and behavior problems and faced discipline after discipline. It wasnt their fault.

 

Proud of my son? You have no idea, I can remember one of him operations that didnt go well, he had a mixture of blood, stool, and urine oozing out of his incision site and a hour 20 minute ride to Childrens Hospital in Philly. I remember seeing him with 4 IV pumps and more tubes than two people should have inserted in him.

 

Now he is tall, (almost as tall as I, thin, (well the illness has kept his father's profile away thus far)

 

and a great sense of humor, am I proud of him?? You bet, I think he belongs on the cover of Boys Life, but they had no interest, I beleive he belongs on the cover of Scouting magazine, but they had no interest.

 

Yes I am very proud, then again, as his father I could just be overreacting...

[OldGreyEagle]

OOPs, you know this is the Disabilities Awareness MB thread, I guess I got off track again. Then again, as well all know, not being able to keep on task is a definite ADD trait...

[Tiny1pj]

Finally someone who gets the idea of true integration! Mike Long hit it on the head when he said "But I certainly would not describe most of them as disabled". To me this would make the perfect unit. The person's health condition is not the primary criteria in the decision making process. If ALL people would take this attitude, there would be no need for the ADA.

 

The merit badge book does not say that the den or troop worked with has to be a "disabled" troop, nor do the individuals have to consider themselves "disabled". Only have a disabling condition.

 

Even though "legally" disabled since 14, I did not consider myself disabled until I was forced into a wheelchair 2 years ago. I did make a concession of using the "handicapped parking permit" after my leg was amputated.

 

Most of us who have severe disabling conditions do not think of ourselves as very disabled, because we usually think of people who are worse off.

 

It is important to recognize the differance of a disabling condition, and the perception of a disability. I consider myself "differantly abled", and know that I have many abilities that others do not. I just cannot walk, or use my hands very long anymore. Most youth/children do not think of themselves as disabled unless an adult forces the issue.

 

OGE - As to the units in our district, many of the mormon units contain only 2-4 boys, and I am not as familiar with them as with the other units. However, one of my favorite tasks as a leader was sitting on the eagle board for a boy who DID NOT make his disability known before the board. It did become obvious he had a developmental disability, and we had to change our questions to get the information we wanted. Yes, he did pass, with only one concession to his disability.

 

jmc - your posts suggest that perhaps you have not come to terms with your own situation. If you look back at my post, you knee-jerked at a particular term, that is still accurate. Although most "disabiling conditions" are hidden, the boys will know of someone who fits the criteria. I was responding with suggestions on how to help boys earn a merit badge, not to complain about leaders. We can trade arguments about who is more impaired till doomsday, but that will not help the boys.

 

Having been told myself that I should "stay home" and not be seen because of my obvious disability, I know that these boys are getting some of the same crap. Because of that they may feel shame, or fear of their condition being a barrier by being differant. For that reason alone the option of "helping a boy join" is not contrived, but a VERY GOOD IDEA! The youth who may percieve that their disabling condition keeps them from joining will certainly benefit from the confidence he can build as he advances in scouting.

 

ADD/ADHD has many levels. Rarely do we see a severe incidence of it. However, last spring I had a boy come through my station at Camp-O-Ree who had absolutely no control. If the leaders of the patrol (adult and youth) had known how to deal with this situation, all the boys could have learned. Instead the adults kept telling the boy to sit, and the other boys kept watching him. The entire patrol lost out due to the ignorance of the condition by the adults, and lack of training the youth leader could have had. It was not the patrol leader's fault that this boy was out of control. But it was definately handled badly. (My solution would have been to have one of his parents along to sit with him, perhaps even "hugging" him to help him keep control. I have used it with several of my clients, but is not appropriate at in scouting except by a parent)

[jmcquillan]

Tiny1pj

 

I came to terms with my "disabilities" long ago, long before I ever joined the ranks of volunteer scout leaders. The loss of most of my right hand took nearly three years to accept, yet I overcame the stigma and the loss of use. Since that time, I haven't, for one day, looked upon myself as "disabled", and can do anything that a "normal" person can do. All the years I've spent in Scouting has only reinforced the idea for me that having such a "condition" is not something that will slow me down, and I've always been able to approach boys with "diabilities" with the same thought. No "disability", however severe, can stop you, if you truly want to do something. The boys and adults in my troop learned pretty quick that they didn't need to "jump in" to do something for me, for they understood that I could do anything myself, if I put my mind to it. And I've apent years teaching boys, and adults, the same thing.

 

All of this does not, however, change the notion for me, that the merit badge requirements are poorly written, and the one regarding recruiting a "disabled" boy to join is contrived. I have had more than one adult, and more than one boy, ask me if it seems fair to recruit a "disabled" person, and get him to join, simply to fullfil a merit badge requirement. My answer to them has always been the same...such a recruitment is not done to achieve rank or for personal gain. Not only is the requirement contrived, but the reasons therefore are selfish. Situations in which a "disabled" person is "invited", "recruited", "asked", or what ever term you want to use, to join an organization, should be for the benefit of that person, where an interest is shown by that person, with all due respect for that persons situation, and not for personal gain. While I understand the fine line that the requirement seems to try to walk, I do not feel it is successfully done. Boys can see through that kind of thing, they're smarter than that. At least the boys I've always been associated with have been.

 

As I said above, we've never worked on the badge in our troop. We have simply accepted all who come our way for whoever and whatever they are, with no "extra" attention given for their "disability". When we've interfaced with someone having a special condition, they've been treated just like any other person...as a person...not as a "disabled" person. Kids with ADD or ADHD have been treated as fellow Scouts, not special Scouts. Kids with mental or emotional disabilities have been treated as fellow Scouts, not special Scouts. And there's never been a recruiting effort to get them into the troop. They migrate our way because of how they are treated here...with respect, with friendship, and with care...as fellow Scouts, not requirement fullfilment.

 

If you read into my post any "knee-jerk" reaction to the notion that leaders are "ignorant" to what a disability is, you do not know the Scouter I am, nor the Scouters I know. In my area, I know not one Scouter who has any lack of understanding of what a disability is. Indeed, they understand all too well what they are, and what they aren't. And I give the volunteer Scouters far more credit than to assume they're "ignorant" to the facts.