Structure and Scouting

The following has been written by a guest, my husband and Ryan’s father, Ira. Enjoy.

Melissa asked me to write a guest article for her blog about life with Ryan, specifically about Ryan’s experiences in scouting which had a very positive impact on his life and ours. One of the things that Melissa and I found in raising a child with learning differences and ADHD is that structure is very important. Structure at the home and in school is critical, but outside activities also require structure, and we found that Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts worked extremely well for Ryan in this regard.

Ryan and I were originally in YMCA’s Indian Guides program while he was in kindergarten and 1st grade, and once he was too old for that program, one of the families in our group suggested Cub Scouts and so we gave that a try. Cub Scouts is run by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), and goes from 1st through 5th grade. Cub Scouts are organized at grade level in Dens within a larger Pack of 1t through 5th graders that is usually centered on an elementary school. The Dens usually meet monthly and are managed by an adult Den Leader who prepares activities for the Scouts to accomplish during the meeting, helping them to learn skills and information relevant to scouting and the community. There are usually outings as well including field trips and camping trips.

All Cub Scouts wear the Cub Scout uniform to their meetings, and I think one of Ryan’s proudest days was the day he first put on his uniform. It really made him feel a part of something and Cub Scouts provided a good structure for Ryan to develop friendships with some of the boys in his den and in the pack as well. Making friends in the school setting was not nearly as easy for Ryan, so Cub Scouts was a big help for him.

In 6th grade, Ryan transitioned into Boy Scouts, and he joined a large, experienced troop with a great ScoutMaster and troop leadership team. Boy Scouts goes from 6th grade until age 18, when a Scout becomes an adult and is officially “aged out” of scouting. Boy Scouts are organized by Troop, usually in a geographic area with Scouts from multiple middle and high schools participating in the same troop. Troops are organized by Patrol, with scouts in the same age and/or grade becoming a part of a patrol that will progress through time and ranks in scouting.

Scouts progress in scouting through the accomplishment of required demonstration of skills like tying knots or building a proper campfire and learning such as safe practices for hiking and swimming activities. The troop and patrol meetings, as well as the outings and camping trips provided Ryan with excellent structure for learning and social interaction. Scouts have opportunities for leadership positions within the troop, and as they grow older and advance in rank, have the opportunity to help guide and teach younger scouts.

Ryan was even able to become a Den Chief which is a Boy Scout who assists an adult Den Leader in leading a Cub Scout den. This helped to teach him responsibility, as he was required to interact with and assist the adult Den Leader, and it was great for his self-esteem, as I really think it made him feel good to help the young Cub Scouts.

Scouting got him outdoors and camping overnight without his parents, giving him a sense of independence. And being outdoors and able to learn and explore where he was not in a classroom or online enhanced his learning experience. Interacting with, watching and learning from older scouts was also great for Ryan as it gave him something to model his behavior after.

The variety of outings, from backpacking to camping, whitewater rafting, horseback riding, fishing and much more allowed Ryan to try and experience many activities in a safe environment that he might never would have tried otherwise. Boy Scout summer camps also allowed him to learn to be away from his family for a full week in a fun outdoor setting where he worked on merit badges and did all kinds of fun activities.

While I was an Assistant Scoutmaster and led many outings, I maybe went on only a third of the outings that Ryan went on because I wanted him to experience scouting without thinking that he had me there to help him. I think that really helped him to develop more into his own person.

The troop meetings, patrol activities, rank advancement requirements and merit badges also gave him good structured activities and learning, and the various adult leaders in the troop provided him with excellent guidance as well. The structured setting of achievable goals, be they rank advancement requirements, achieving higher ranks, merit badges, or leadership positions in the troop were also beneficial to Ryan as he could set his sights on specific goals and track his progress.

At the same time, this was not an easy and smooth process, as attaining a new rank was a minimum of six months of work and outings, and the merit badges each required work ranging from several hours to several months of work. Keeping Ryan on task was not easy, and mastering some of the skills posed interesting challenges. But through the structure of scouting, with the adult leaders, elder scouts, and the program itself, Ryan was able to prove to himself that he could accomplish quite a lot, learn many new skills, have a great deal of fun and experience new activities and places, and gain good friends along the way.

I should also mention one other thing about BSA on this topic. BSA is very aware of the needs and challenges of children with learning differences and disabilities, and has resources available for troops and adult leaders to help these scouts succeed. Our troop had two scouts who were on the autism spectrum and a few others with learning or emotional differences, and we truly helped these scouts succeed in the troop. It also helped the other scouts to learn how to interact with and help the scouts with special needs, adding to their own scouting and life experiences.

When Ryan was 16 or 17, he was the oldest and highest ranking scout on a couple of troop outings, so Ryan became the senior patrol leader for those outings, helping to make decisions about how the outing was to be run and what the schedule would be for the outing. He was the leader of all scouts on these outings, regardless of their age, so he had to learn to lead in different ways depending upon the age and experience of the scout. He also needed to learn to rely upon and trust his assistant leaders on those outings and work closely with the adult leaders on the outing. This level of leadership for him was really important in his development as well, as it required him to plan and think more about the scouts and the outing than he otherwise would.

Of course, in Boy Scouts the ultimate goal is to attain the rank of Eagle Scout, which I believe less than 5% of all who enter scouting actually attain. Attaining this goal requires an extraordinary amount of work and planning, and the final Eagle Scout Service Project, where the scout designs, plans and leads the work on a community service project, and then documents everything, is very complicated.

For an individual with learning differences like Ryan, this was a monumental challenge.  Again, the structure of BSA, the adult leaders and mentors, other scouts in the troop who attained the Eagle Sc

Melissa asked me to write a guest article for her blog about life with Ryan, specifically about Ryan’s experiences in scouting which had a very positive impact on his life and ours. One of the things that Melissa and I found in raising a child with learning differences and ADHD is that structure is very important. Structure at the home and in school is critical, but outside activities also require structure, and we found that Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts worked extremely well for Ryan in this regard.

Ryan and I were originally in YMCA’s Indian Guides program while he was in kindergarten and 1st grade, and once he was too old for that program, one of the families in our group suggested Cub Scouts and so we gave that a try. Cub Scouts is run by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), and goes from 1st through 5th grade. Cub Scouts are organized at grade level in Dens within a larger Pack of 1t through 5th graders that is usually centered on an elementary school. The Dens usually meet monthly and are managed by an adult Den Leader who prepares activities for the Scouts to accomplish during the meeting, helping them to learn skills and information relevant to scouting and the community. There are usually outings as well including field trips and camping trips.

All Cub Scouts wear the Cub Scout uniform to their meetings, and I think one of Ryan’s proudest days was the day he first put on his uniform. It really made him feel a part of something and Cub Scouts provided a good structure for Ryan to develop friendships with some of the boys in his den and in the pack as well. Making friends in the school setting was not nearly as easy for Ryan, so Cub Scouts was a big help for him.

In 6th grade, Ryan transitioned into Boy Scouts, and he joined a large, experienced troop with a great ScoutMaster and troop leadership team. Boy Scouts goes from 6th grade until age 18, when a Scout becomes an adult and is officially “aged out” of scouting. Boy Scouts are organized by Troop, usually in a geographic area with Scouts from multiple middle and high schools participating in the same troop. Troops are organized by Patrol, with scouts in the same age and/or grade becoming a part of a patrol that will progress through time and ranks in scouting.

Scouts progress in scouting through the accomplishment of required demonstration of skills like tying knots or building a proper campfire and learning such as safe practices for hiking and swimming activities. The troop and patrol meetings, as well as the outings and camping trips provided Ryan with excellent structure for learning and social interaction. Scouts have opportunities for leadership positions within the troop, and as they grow older and advance in rank, have the opportunity to help guide and teach younger scouts.

Ryan was even able to become a Den Chief which is a Boy Scout who assists an adult Den Leader in leading a Cub Scout den. This helped to teach him responsibility, as he was required to interact with and assist the adult Den Leader, and it was great for his self-esteem, as I really think it made him feel good to help the young Cub Scouts.

Scouting got him outdoors and camping overnight without his parents, giving him a sense of independence. And being outdoors and able to learn and explore where he was not in a classroom or online enhanced his learning experience. Interacting with, watching and learning from older scouts was also great for Ryan as it gave him something to model his behavior after.

The variety of outings, from backpacking to camping, whitewater rafting, horseback riding, fishing and much more allowed Ryan to try and experience many activities in a safe environment that he might never would have tried otherwise. Boy Scout summer camps also allowed him to learn to be away from his family for a full week in a fun outdoor setting where he worked on merit badges and did all kinds of fun activities.

While I was an Assistant Scoutmaster and led many outings, I maybe went on only a third of the outings that Ryan went on because I wanted him to experience scouting without thinking that he had me there to help him. I think that really helped him to develop more into his own person.

The troop meetings, patrol activities, rank advancement requirements and merit badges also gave him good structured activities and learning, and the various adult leaders in the troop provided him with excellent guidance as well. The structured setting of achievable goals, be they rank advancement requirements, achieving higher ranks, merit badges, or leadership positions in the troop were also beneficial to Ryan as he could set his sights on specific goals and track his progress.

At the same time, this was not an easy and smooth process, as attaining a new rank was a minimum of six months of work and outings, and the merit badges each required work ranging from several hours to several months of work. Keeping Ryan on task was not easy, and mastering some of the skills posed interesting challenges. But through the structure of scouting, with the adult leaders, elder scouts, and the program itself, Ryan was able to prove to himself that he could accomplish quite a lot, learn many new skills, have a great deal of fun and experience new activities and places, and gain good friends along the way.

I should also mention one other thing about BSA on this topic. BSA is very aware of the needs and challenges of children with learning differences and disabilities, and has resources available for troops and adult leaders to help these scouts succeed. Our troop had two scouts who were on the autism spectrum and a few others with learning or emotional differences, and we truly helped these scouts succeed in the troop. It also helped the other scouts to learn how to interact with and help the scouts with special needs, adding to their own scouting and life experiences.

When Ryan was 16 or 17, he was the oldest and highest ranking scout on a couple of troop outings, so Ryan became the senior patrol leader for those outings, helping to make decisions about how the outing was to be run and what the schedule would be for the outing. He was the leader of all scouts on these outings, regardless of their age, so he had to learn to lead in different ways depending upon the age and experience of the scout. He also needed to learn to rely upon and trust his assistant leaders on those outings and work closely with the adult leaders on the outing. This level of leadership for him was really important in his development as well, as it required him to plan and think more about the scouts and the outing than he otherwise would.

Of course, in Boy Scouts the ultimate goal is to attain the rank of Eagle Scout, which I believe less than 5% of all who enter scouting actually attain. Attaining this goal requires an extraordinary amount of work and planning, and the final Eagle Scout Service Project, where the scout designs, plans and leads the work on a community service project, and then documents everything, is very complicated.

For an individual with learning differences like Ryan, this was a monumental challenge. Again, the structure of BSA, the adult leaders and mentors, other scouts in the troop who attained the Eagle Scout rank, and Melissa and myself, helped guide Ryan in this process and achieve this amazing goal. Scouting is complicated but structured, challenging and fun, and Ryan was able to experience it all and in the end succeeded to the point where he attained the rank of Eagle Scout, something that will stay with him fe rest of his life, for as they say, “Once an Eagle Scout, always an Eagle Scout”.