By: Keri Gustafson
Contributor to Specialneedsinmycity.com

The Girl Scout Promise                                       “On my honor, I will try:                                              To serve God and my country,                                    To help people at all times,                                       And to live by the Girl Scout Law.”                         Source: (http://www.girlscouts.org)

As parents of children with special needs, we know how important it is to find proper and valuable mainstreaming opportunities for our children. Our family found such an opportunity and hope our story will inspire families to consider a time-honored tradition such as Scouting for their child.

Our eleven-year-old daughter, Madison, is a Girl Scout. Her journey as a Girl Scout started when she was five years old. She was invited to join her first troop by a family friend who was starting a new troop. At that time, it was never even a question about whether or not Madison could be in Girl Scouts, it was just assumed that she would. Since our commitment was solid from the get-go, it always seemed natural for Madison to be a Scout.

What does being in Girl Scouts mean to Madison and our family?

Everything. It means “normal”. It means acceptance. It means that our girl, with so many challenges, can do something that any other girl her age could (and should!) do. It means that Madison has a very natural, consistent way to be “mainstreamed” and gets to know some amazing peers. The program allows her to discover her talents and skills and to connect with her fellow peers. Also, it gives her opportunities to take action by participating in different activities that encourage citizenship in the community.

Over the years, our daughter has been in two different troops, both of which have supported her in the most incredible ways. Most children and adults in our troops had limited or no experience working with children with developmental delays. However, they’ve always found ways to adapt and modify activities for her on the fly.

One of my biggest priorities is to give Madison opportunities for independence because there are SO many things she has to depend on me for each and every day. So I am asking A LOT from all of these amazing leaders when I have her participate in the different troop activities.

Fellow scouts, troop leaders and Scouting continue to offer our daughter an opportunity to gain and experience important life skills. Values and skills such as responsibility, friendship, language and social skills, compassion, leadership, public service, and self-confidence are highly reinforced.

Girl Scout days are great days. Madison is always very excited and anxious to attend her meetings. When we pull up in the parking lot, she will usually exclaim something such as, “Look, there are all of my friends!” I usually don’t even have time to get her wheelchair out of the car before she tries to take off walking the moment the car is in park!

Madison and our entire family are incredibly grateful for Girl Scouts and all of the opportunities it has afforded her. It has had a tremendous positive impact on all of us and certainly has helped shape our expectations of Madison and her community. I hope our experience will inspire other families to explore scouting for their son or daughter.

Families interested in exploring Scouting for their child can contact their local Girls/Boys Scout Council office for a Troop that is the right fit for them.

Keri is a wife, mother of two beautiful daughters, writer and advocate for bringing awareness to local supermarkets about the need to offer Caroline Cart’s to special families. Her daughter, Madison has Cerebral Palsy.