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[quote=Anonymous]I have never heard of a Troop with size restrictions. There might be sensitivity in where you recruit from, like one MS based Troop doesn’t openly invite kids from a different MS and type of thing but I have never heard of size limits. I know that our Pack does not advertise at neighboring ES because they have their own Packs. We accept kids from those schools in our Pack if they come to us but we don’t recruit from their school. The Troops that are smaller, and like it that way, do less recruiting.

It hurts and it sucks but, in the long run, this was not the Troop you wanted to be in. There are lots of welcoming Troops in the area. It sounds like you joined a different Troop, hopefully it works out for you. I know a few kids who have joined a Troop and then moved to a different one looking for a better fit. Each Pack/Troop has its own vibe because of the kids in it and the Parents who are volunteering.

All BSA units are parent run and there is limited training regarding kids with disabilities. The only sustained block of training that all adult volunteers have to take is the Youth Protection Training. I was the membership chair for my Pack and took a bunch of extra training so that I could better understand the program and explain things to Parents but not every volunteer does that. And the disability training was maybe 30 minutes.

For the parent who had 2 kids, were you talking to the Den Leader for the older child? There is a Den for each grade level. It is possible that the Den Leader was focused on the child who would be in her/his Den. Adventures are different for each group and are scheduled differently by each Den. Having the younger child meet with the same Den Leader as the older kid is not going to answer much for the younger child. And Packs do not mix up the grades because there is a progression. Kids Bridge over in 5th grade (Webelos/Arrow of Light) so you cannot have a third grader in Webelos/AOL in fifth grade because they have an older sibling. That said, it is strange that the Den Leader wouldn’t have told you that or explained that your younger child needed to attend a meeting with the Den for their age group.

I know a good number of kids with ADHD and one kid with ASD in our Den, it hasn’t been an issue. The parents stay at the meetings and are there to support their child. I don’t know what this will look like in a Troop, we are just bridging, because the Troops strongly encourage limited parental involvement. I am sure there are accomodations for Scouts who need more parental support, especially in 5th and 6th grade.

I will say that a good question for parents of any type of kid to ask is what type of leadership training does the Troop provide to the Scouts. There is a really good leadership series for the Scouts that kids can attend. If the Troop that you are talking to does not include Leadership Training for Scouts and National Leadership for Scouts, then they are doing it wrong. There is also a National Advanced Leadership Training but that is offered at limited locations and has far fewer slots, still, Troops should be looking out for those opportunities.

The other thing to look for is the number of Adults in the Troop or Pack that have attended Wood Badge. This is a time intensive leadership training course for Adults that focuses on building a better Scouting program and helps Adults learn to see Scouting through the eyes of the kids. It is meant to help with directing a Pack or Troop. If the Troops you are looking at don’t have any Wood Badge participants then that means they don’t have that small percentage of parents who are looking to really develop a strong program. I am not Wood Badge trained, I don’t want to spend that time, but my Pack sends 2 people a year and the Troop we are bridging into has three current Wood Badge members.  [/quote]

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