Anyone want to read a draft of my article?

[WisconsinMomma]

Hi Scouters,

I am writing an article on disabilities awareness as my final portion of my Wood Badge ticket.  It's almost done, but I'd love to get some extra eyes on the content and get your feedback if possible.  I'll be wrapping this up within the next day or two.  Thank you!  Karen

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zghby3d5MpfK0JLUipzHwZBbLiMdX-WV8Qg-DE9dshM/edit?usp=sharing

 

[ItsBrian]

Well said.

[NJCubScouter]

Very good article, well-written and informative.

[NJCubScouter]

You might also want to mention the Disabilities Awareness Merit Badge and/or list the pamphlet among your resources.  It shows that the BSA is trying to build awareness among Scouts as well as Scouters.

[Summitdog]

Karen,

 

If you have not already submitted your paper, here are a few notes:

I

PLEASE DO:

-       find out if the scout/family wants the scout to advocate for themselves

-       be as discreet as possible when accommodating the difference (but not in such a way that the scout believes they should be ashamed)

 

Please DON’T:

-- blame poor parenting / home life / single mom (Single Parent)

 

You may wish to address what is probably one of the most common situation a leader will encounter, a child with untreated ADHD.  Some parents either do not recognize that the scout may have ADHD or have chosen not to use conventional treatment (medication) to address the issue.  It is important for the leader(s) to know how best to approach the parent in a disarming manner to at least begin the conversation.  A leader may also have stress balls or fidget spinners to help the scout from being disruptive during the meeting.

 

Scotty

Edited April 11, 2019 by Summitdog

[jjlash]

Thank you for sharing this Karen, it provides good general info for those of us who do not have much experience dealing with truly challenging youth.  I have passed it along to someone in my council who is creating a training session on dealing with kids with these abilities and challenges (also as part of her ticket).

I have a couple of really minor style things to point out if you would like them:

* On the list of "DO"s each item is capitalized.  On the list of "DON'T"s none of the items are capitalized.

* You have many places where Scout is capitalized and a few places where it is not.  Same for "Unit"

* The middle couple paragraphs in the section "Things To Watch Out For" are not really things to watch out for but would make a really nice overview or introduction.

* There is at least one instance of "Boy Scouts"

 

Thanks again for creating this and sharing it beyond your council.

Jay

[Liz]

"or require unique circumstances to assist them."

I don't think this is what you mean to say. Due to unique circumstances, they may require unique skills, unique strategies, etc.. 

I'd probably change this to "... or require unique strategies to assist them." ; but there are several possible words you can choose here that would work better than "circumstances."

Working with youth with differences and helping them can feel like a major challenge for the youth in Scouting as well as adult leaders

This looks like it probably started out saying something else, and then got edited and something got lost in the editing (or at least that's what I do a lot that results in sentences like this one). I *think* what you're trying to say here is that it can feel like a major challenge for the youth who are not used to working with Scouts with disabilities, but it's not quite clear. Maybe, if I'm understanding what you're trying to say here, something like "Accommodating Scouts with disabilities and other differences may feel like a major challenge to the Troop's youth leadership as well as the adult leaders." 

On the "Please Do" list, please keep in mind that not all persons who have disabilities prefer "person first" language. Many people, especially those who are a part of a community such as the deaf or autism community, prefer "identity first" language (i.e. a deaf person, an autistic person). It's important to identify how the Scout (or Scouter for that matter) wants to be identified and respect that.

I have an appointment so I had to speed-read through the rest of it; but overall those are the only things that jumped out at me as needing editing. Good work!

[David CO]

It is well written, but I don't agree with it.