Autistic Girl Kicked out of Girl Scout Troop

I have a cousin who is autistic. There is no way he could participate in a scout meeting without being too disruptive, even if his mom was continuously at his side.

I don't know where on the "spectrum" this girl was, but if she's biting herself, she sounds like she has a moderate to severe case. My cousin, as a child, was not only unable to communicate or respond to communications, but could at any moment hit out at someone or something and injure himself or someone else. His mother would have known better than to sign him up for scouts. Is the mother in this case being realistic?

Another thing - if this was a special needs group, consider that it is unlikely that the teacher could have explained to the other girls about making accommodations for a child who engages in disturbing/frightening behavior. What about these other children's right to have some sort of meaningful experience?

I also think some people are being unreasonable about the leader. Nobody's giving her kudos for taking on the challenge of a special needs group to begin with. She's volunteering her precious time and probably honestly doing the best she can. Why should she even have a special duty to this girl, over and above what she's already doing? Another question - why aren't the special needs kids being spread around among the "regular" troops so the "normal" kids can better learn to care for others? It seems completely wrong to attack this woman just because she has already gone above and beyond.

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Thank you SKL. Those are exactly the points I was trying to get across :)

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This girl was self-harming and running away. That's beyond what you can expect a volunteer leader to handle. Even if her parent's were there every meeting then such behaviour is still disruptive and going to prevent a routine from being established which in turn will probably prevent the girl from ever getting settled.

She'd probably be better in a small group in which the other girls can act more independently; a well disciplined and structured group.

I wonder why they moved this girl from a group she was supposedly so settled with?

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Living in the council this took place in and being the spouse of a former GS employee, I need to say that they breed the feeling that they are above the law. That said, this girl had been a brownie for two years previous and her former leader said the girls were used to her outbursts which were not bad. It was good to have her in the group. It just got too big and overwhelming for her. The day before her first meeting, she said "brownies" many times. Asking to go. This child doesn't ask for many things. She did fine during the crafts, her dad had to chase her once and she bit her hand during circle time because she was uncomfortable. She didn't endanger any of the 4 other kids at all.

To just be called and told not to bring her back because you're afraid for the safety of the other kids is just wrong. It shows a complete lack of empathy, problem solving skills and the actual desire to work with disabled kids. One or both of her parents always attend with her. What's the issue?

My spouse was always drilled to believe that the appearance of a situation was in fact all that mattered. That made it very difficult to complete the job in a somewhat new field to the council. Looks like thats biting them in the butt. They appear to be cold and heartless about the whole situation. Even their response was cold.
I hope this brings about great change in the way the GS operate. It's long overdue. I guess at least the leader didn't have a teenager chained in the basement to torture.

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I used to be a girl scout leader, Its not ok what they did PERIOD. I have seen them discriminate against girls, that's exactly why my daughter isnt doing it this year nor am I a leader again this year.

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Tami and Laura, I agree with both of you. I'm sorry but if this troop leader runs a troop for special needs children, that should include ALL special needs children. And to those who posted that the mother should have stayed, I didn't read anywhere where it says she just left her there. I'm sure she didn't. I hope that Magi can find another troop that is more deserving of her and one that can learn from her also. Compassion is the key, something this world really lacks in lately. Don't you think?

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The wording of this article is discriminating in itself. "Kicked out" of Girl Scouts??? There has to be more to this story than the kicking out part. (The writer alone should be admonished for this type of journalism. A child with special needs, such as autism, requires a certain understanding on the caretaker's part - If you don't understand how autistic children think, then you will definitely think this child is a "bother." I feel badly for Magi's parents who must endure this type of discrimination, not on the Girl Scout's part, but on the part of the leader who did not have the intelligence to seek out an answer to this child's behavior. (How does she cope with the OTHER special needs children??) There are better places for Magi to go to other than this particular group (or leader). I hope they find a place for Magi to enjoy and be understood better with other children. I also hpe that Magi's parents are participating in their child's development and encouraging her in many ways that would help her adapt to group actiivities. Difficult I know - I am a teacher and the grandparent of an autistic child.

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How about magi's mom start her own special needs girl scout group?
Then she can include everyone, no matter how frightening or disruptive.

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I understand that this is a difficult situation and I am willing to admit that this leader was facing a monumental problem but we seem to forget that GSA receives funding rom the US governement for the scouting program.This is plainly discrimination and is not acceptable at any cost. There are many different remedies that this leader could have tried including asking the mother to stay, going to a service that provides services to kids with disabilities and asking for a volunteer that is trained in dealing with these types of problems, approaching a teenaged girls that are looking for volunteer possibilities so someone could one-onone this child or maybe admitted that she was just not the right one for this opportunity and asked her local GS Council to find someone else to lead this troop.

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