mildly retarded / Girl scouts?

I think the key is, will the leaders be happy to have her? If so, great! If you get resistance, beware.

Janis

I forgot to ask, is she in a girl scout troop now? That should make a difference if the scout camp knows she already successfully participates in scouts to her ability level and is not a behavior problem.

Janis

I would call the council and discuss your situation. Girl Scouts USA is committed to serving people with disabilities. If you give them a heads-up as to her specific needs, your goals for your child re: this experience, etc. then they will have the info. they need to recruit/train/prepare leaders that can make it a positive experience for all of the girls. If her social skills are more like those of a younger child, she may do better in a younger age group.

Rover is right…I’m a Cub leader and the leader’s attitude is key. But knowing our cub program, and the various kids we have accommodated (try 25 beavers age 5-7 with one severe tourettes early onset, and at least 2 severe ADHD, and at least 4 with general behaviour issues, and at least 2 gifted class clowns!) I don’t think they would have a problem. All those difficult kids are even easier to manage now that they have moved up to Cubs, but we still have one severe ADHD, one tourettes, one gifted class clown and the 4 general behavioural issues!

But if possible, I suggest that you NOT make her sister her ‘keeper’, but spread this among the other scouts? It should be the TROOP that is her support system — all the girls should be told privately that she needs extra support, and encouraged to make her FULLY one of them. In a troop that is run well, provided the leader has no ‘MR prejudice’ which should not exist but in the real world DOES, this should be easy.

What we do in our troop is ‘shadow’ the kids with difficulties — ie we have one guy with severe ADHD who has trouble with boredom and tends to ‘s**t disturb’. If someone is surrepticiously WATCHING him (usually this is me, by the way) we can not only head off trouble, but get to him and remind him of the better way to handle things, BEFORE one of the other guys gets totally PEEVED by ‘mean’ behaviour (poking, taking ball away, teasing, etc.) which is really not meant to be mean but meant to get attention…we also make sure that he is NOT ostracized for bad behaviour, and if there is a tiff we do explain privately to the victim that ‘X has problems with his behaviour, and made a bad choice, as we all do at times — lets give him a break’. Of course, we don’t ‘save’ the agressor from the consequences — he still gets benched, etc. or there would be a backlash of resentment for unfair treatment — it is just the extra explanation to defray resentment of HIM that we give. This seems to make the others give him just a bit more leeway, and they take him as he is…IN all our activities, we are kind of keeping an eye on the ones with more difficulties, without letting it be known by the kids that this is being done. Of course, your daughter’s issues would be different, but the plan is to meet her needs and make her a valued member of the group, who is allowed to be herself and supported as a unique and irreplaceable part of the whole.

Good luck with this, it is very worthwhile to put your daughter in this program. I remember a little friend from Brownies who had Downs very fondly…we all KNEW Patsy was different, but she was welcomed and accepted. Your daughter would be welcomed in our cub pack, anyway, and I for one think she is going to find great success with a bit of support and proper groundwork laid! I agree with the reference about much younger children, but would put her with own age group if it is at all possible, provided that she is happier with her own agemates…best to you and your child!