Concerns About Potential Conflict Navigation

[swilliams]

First meeting as Scoutmaster last night, and our SPL had the scouts re-form their Patrols.  Late this afternoon I fielded a call from a parent whose son has some very mild behavioral issues (alerted to the issues by the parent, not a judgement call).  He will be Patrol Leader for his Patrol.  I was told that one of the other scouts in the Patrol has similar behaviors, so the parent wasn't sure that this grouping was the best fit. There was no demand for a re-do or to separate the kids - it was phrased from the perspective of sharing information for monitoring. So that's the great news. The scouts did group themselves, though the one scout (the one who may have similar behaviors) is new to the Troop and the friend who brought him in undoubtedly influenced the grouping.  (Our CC has some notes that parents have shared about individual scouts, but hasn't shared them yet.  Me taking on this role was pretty last-minute when the previous SM was stepping down, and no one was stepping up.)  

I do have some experience working with kids in an ABA setting, but with greater needs than we're talking about here.  I've finished all my online training - not much there about this.  I haven't done IOLS or WoodBadge - they're only available in a few months, from what I saw on our Council website.  Not sure how much, if any, material they cover about working with scouts with special needs.  Even if this is covered, there's no substitute for experience, which I lack.

Please point me to any resources on helping (or resisting the urge to help, when called for) scouts that have to navigate conflict, and who may be more challenged by that.  Appreciated.

[DuctTape]

 Conflict is natural AND a growth opportunity. Help the scouts figure out solutions to the conflict. The SM is not the referee. Your background has prepared you better than most to help guide the scouts to resolution. I have found using the Socratic Method to be an invaluable tool to help scouts find solutions. Having a few "tricks to try" is also useful when they are stumped. But presentjng them as a question allows them the opportunity to decide.