SCOUTING OFFERS 134-PLUS merit badges, and almost all of them focus on enhancing a Scout’s knowledge and abilities. One badge is different: Disabilities Awareness

Sandy Payne, a member of the Scouting America’s National Special Needs and Disabilities Committee, begins her presentation on how to include those with special needs

Madison Trimble is slowly but confidently making her way around a simple maze of PVC pipes laid out on the ground. Every few steps, her feet or her bright yellow cane bumps against a pipe, and she shifts her direction slightly. When she gets to the end, Madison, an 18-year-old Venturer from Crew 5275C of the Alamo Area Council, takes off the blindfold. She looks behind her. “That was hard!” she says. “You have to use your other senses, like hearing and feel.” That’s exactly the point of the disAbilities Awareness Challenge area at the 2017 National Jamboree. Venturers and Scouts experience the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities or special needs.

When Noah White became aware that there was a lack of inclusion for people with disabilities in some public venues within his community, it hit different. Noah, from Troop 107 in Cincinnati, has a sister who has Down syndrome and is hard of hearing. For his Eagle Scout service project, Noah came up with the idea to install a sign at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden — a place he visited frequently — that would make it easier for visitors of different abilities to enjoy the exhibits. Noah, who took an American Sign Language class in school, wanted to include information on his sign in ASL and a handful of foreign languages. And he wanted to include a section that used the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), an alternative communication system designed for people with cognitive, physical and communication challenges. “I noticed that animal exhibits did not have any forms of communication on them aside from English,” Noah says. “A sign was the perfect way to place these forms of communication because it offers a space for colors and multiple communication methods to be displayed in one spot.” As the project progressed, the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired hopped on board and offered to add Braille.

It’s the kind of question every parent dreams of hearing: “Dad, do you know anywhere I can volunteer?” Two years ago, Trenton Doherty directed that query to his father, and Rich Doherty had a ready answer. Rich told Trenton about The Angelus, an assisted-living facility for people with disabilities such as autism, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome. As a Scout, Trenton welcomed any opportunity to help other people at all times — whether those times earned him service hours for rank advancement or not. To Trenton, The Angelus seemed like a place where he could do a lot of good. One day while volunteering at The Angelus, Trenton met Chris, who has been a resident at the facility for 15 years. Through their conversations, Trenton learned that Chris had been a Scout in Hudson, Fla., in the early to mid-2000s. But that Scouting story ended in a cliffhanger: When Chris was a Life Scout, the troop “up and left,” Rich says. “On the ride home, Trenton said, ‘It wasn’t right that Chris is so close and won’t get his chance to become Eagle!’” Rich remembers.

For more than four decades, Scouting America and the Woods Services Foundation have honored Scouters for their exceptional service for Scouts with special needs