Lsg 21 Guide for Special Needs

A GUIDE

for

SPECIAL NEEDS SCOUTING

Whatis aSpecialNeed?

Manyofushaveaspecialneed!A personwhowearsglasseshasaspecialneed,a personwithdiabeteshasaspecialneed,apersoninawheelchairhasaspecial need.

Itisimportantthatweasleadersconcentrateontheabilitiesofallouryouth. Whena positiveimageis projected,wecanmorereadilyhelpthepersonwitha specialneed.

Integration,SeparationorExclusion(LSG20 DISCRIMINATION?‐ DISABILITY?‐ DISRUPTIVE?WHOCAN JOINORREMAININSCOUTS? )

Whena childpresentshimorherselftoaGrouprequestingmembershiptheycan NOTbeexcludedbecauseoftheirability.Itishoweverpossiblethatachildisnot suitableformembershiporonlysuitableformembershipofaSpecialNeeds Group.

Ofcoursetherewillbeoccasionswhereweareconfrontedbya“specialneed”we havenotseenbefore.Trytounderstandthespecialneed,beforeyoumakeany commitmentsormakeanydecisions.Itisprobablyimportantthattheguardians provideyouwithanhonesthistoryoftheproblem.Rememberthattheguardians haveadutyofcare,justlikealeaderhasadutyofcare.Failuretodosocancause problemsall around.

Ifthereisanydoubtastosuitabilityofmembership,aleadershouldfollowthe guidelinesassetoutinLSG20

MainStreamGroups–

Agelimitsapplyasforallyouthmembers.Manychildrenwithadisabilityfitin wellina mainstreamgroup.Itispossiblethatsomeminorchangesneedtobe madetotheprogram.Badgeworkshouldbeadaptedtotheabilityoftheyouth member;ableorwithaspecialneedthesameruleapplies“tothebestoftheir ability”.

CurrentSpecialNeedsGroups‐

CooksHillCity– Newcastle

1stCromehurstScoutGroup–worksoutof1stLindfieldHall–SydneyNorth

BangorKangaroos–SydneySouth

TheseGroupscaterforthemoreseveredisabilities,bothphysicalandmental. Thesegroupsarenotnecessarilysplitintosections.Ingeneralthereisnoage limit.LSG20ondiscriminationappliesequallytotheseGroupsastheydotomain streamGroups.

Lones–

WherethereisnosuitablegroupavailableforapersonwithaSpecialNeed,it maybepossibletolinkwiththeLonesGroupoftheAssociation.Thiswillafford thepersonmembershipwiththeAssociationandtoparticipateinsomeofits activities,dependingonthepersonsabilities.

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StartinganewSpecialNeedsSection

WhenthereisapushtostartanotherSpecialneedsGrouptherearemanyitemsthatneedtobe addressed.

Inmostcasesitwouldbemuchbettertolinkwithanexistinggroupandtostartaseparatesection, suchasthe‘BangorKangaroos.’

Linkingwithanexistinggroupprovides,inalmostallcases,anexistingstructureofahallandagroup committee.Thisofcoursedoesnotstopparentalresponsibilitiesofsupportingthenewsectionaswell astheexistinggroup.

Allnewformationsshouldbestartedwiththesupportoftheexistinggroup,theDistrict

Commissioner,theRegionalCommissionerandtheStateCommissionerSpecialNeeds.

AvailableMaterialstoassistLeaders

LSG20–DISCRIMINATION?‐DISABILITY?‐DISRUPTIVE?WHOCANJOINORREMAININ SCOUTS?ProducedbyScoutsNSW–availableontheweb.

•“DisabilityandImpairmentInformationSheets”–ProducedbyScoutsVictoria–availableon theweb.

•“ScoutingwiththeDisabled”–ProducedbyWorldOrganisationoftheScoutMovement–

availableontheweb.

•“GuidelinesonScoutingforPeoplewithDisabilities”‐ Producedby WorldOrganisationofthe

ScoutMovement–availableontheweb.

•Power‐pointpresentations–availableonrequest–allproducedbyScoutsNSW.

1. DisabilityAwareness

2. 2.IdeasforTestingSpecialNeedsScouts

TheStateCommissionerspecialisingindisabilitiesandchallengedscoutsisthe

StateCommissioner(SpecialNeeds)

MostRegionsalsohavesupportpeoplewhocansupportleaderswiththeseissues.

Scouts Australia NSW acknowledges the contribution of Dr Warwick Bateman AM in the development of this Leader Support Guide.

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