duke of edinburgh award

[wood]

hi,i would appreciate anyones opinion please. my ds has mild aspergers. this shows itself with having obsessions and although he has a few good friends he does find making friends difficult. he doesn't mind a change in routine, and is a very happy person. his teacher has said it is not a good idea for him to do the duke of Edinburgh, as he is so sensitive. my ds would only do the bronze, and he would volunteer in a library and do running as part of his sport. I thought it might do him good and boost his self confidence. I will speaking to the teacher after Christmas, but in the mean time would be grateful for anyones opinion please. cheers

[happycrimblechuckie]

I am a DofE assessor and how dare that teacher say that. The award is for EVERYONE if he struggles on any of the diciplines he can have help. Usually the hardest one for your son to do will be the expedition and the practice expedition but he can take a mentor with him, a close friend or family member who cannot help in anyway but will be there if they are needed, join your son into Scouts, he will have no problem making friends and doing all THREE levels there no matter what his difficulties.

[mummytime]

That is awful!

I would complain about the teacher to be honest.
D of E is fabulous, at my DCs school a completely blind girl completed it, including the full hike (minimal modifications). Lots of children with Asperger's do Bronze every year.

[maillotjaune]

I'd just like to second what HaopyCrimble said - worth trying to find a local Explorer Scout troop. They will be used to all sorts of children doing DofE and there are other benefits.

[capercaillie]

Again - teacher should not say that (award head office would be very dismayed). I've had kids with aspergers, ADHD, sight impairments and mild physical impairments. The only one we've had to say no to was a severely physically impaired girl - helped her find a group elsewhere.

[capercaillie]

Also worth adding that a few times some of those participants really shone on their expedition...and everybody got a lot out of it.

[copanya]

DoE is one of the best things I ever did and your lad can go all the way to gold no problem. I have often wondered whether my lad is a bit Aspergery but Scouts was great for him because of the structure and I think it will be the same as he starts DofE. Maybe the teacher is a bit worried about the banter etc on an expedition but my (dim) memory is that it was the conscientious ones that really shone on expedition. Go for it!

[uptomyeyes]

I am also a D of E assessor and trainer - through the Scout Association. I helped assess three bronze groups in the summer, 2 groups had a child with Aspergers in. They were great , fully involved in the expedition training, planning and delivery- immaculate route plans and other documentation! All the kids passed. The point of the expedition is that the group get to know each other well beforehand through training together and practice. They agree roles based on their strengths and weaknesses and part of the assessment is how they have worked as a team to get the job done. A severely dyslexic boy was never going to be able to map read, but he could cook, so that was his big task - to plan the menus in advance, shop for the food, budget and organise the cooking of the meals. One child was anorexic so a real leap of faith for her mum to let her participate but everything is risk assessed and well supervised and positive taking is part of the achievement with the expedition. As for the other elements of the programme there is so much flexibility that I've never found a child unable to participate in the volunteering/skill/physical.

[MrsAMerrick]

I think your son should definitely do it if he wants to. He might really enjoy it. I would make sure he is fully prepared for the expedition, I don't mean in terms of walking or map reading but working as a team.

In my dc school the children choose their groups for the expedition. One of my dc was in a group of friends and at the last minute they were allocated a child who they didn't know well, and who had what I suspect is Aspergers (dc wasnt clear). The practice expedition was a disaster. According to dc the other boy refused to share a tent, leaving person who should have slept with him to sleep in another tent meant for two, refused to share food or eat what others had cooked, and then refused to walk at a point where he felt they should go one way and rest of group said they should go another way.
This boy then dropped out and didn't do the assessed expedition.

I would make sure your ds understands that he will need to eat other people's food, share a tent, and participate in group decisions. If he is fine with that and is with a group of his friends then hopefully they will all have a great time.

[tricot39]

On the face of it, it is terrible that the DofE leader has said this but is this because they have prior knowledge that we do not have? I agree with what MrsMerrick says. The expedition requires everyone to compromise and work together. It could put someone else at risk if your DS is unwilling to go along with the group - eg if he perceives that they are going the wrong way it is still safer to stick together than to split etc. If he can cope with that sort of thing then go for it! If you are not sure could you do a training trip of your own with someone else from the group? Good luck

[AlaskaNebraska]

i think would be great. Mine moaned all the way through but in the end LOVED the expeditions. they met some other school at the campsite on the last one and had a ball playing 40 40 in in the dark

[owlspirit]

hello uptomyeyes. with reference to your comment about flexibility and the ethos of D of E achievement for all, I was just wondering with your experience if you had come across flexibility within the volunteering section of the 'one hour, once a week for 12 weeks' for children with autism considering many avenues may not be open to them because of social stresses and difficulties. or indeed volunteering activities in general where the engagement, commitment and achievement for the child (with hours exceeding 12hours) and the wellbeing of the recipients have been the important features which to define commitment as opposed to 'one hour once a week for 12 weeks'. all comments welcome thank you.

[EBee57]

DD found that local charity shops were quite flexible - a very local charity suggested that DofE-ers to do 6 x 2hrs a week in their shop; the local Scope shop also offered to have parent attending with DofE-er who found it difficult to come by him/herself. HTH

[BronzeHorseman]

uptomyeyes as you are an assessor do you mind me asking, how are health issues managed on the D of E expeditions? My eldest is just starting but is asthmatic, I worry a bit about what the back up will be when they go off to the local mountains in case they have an asthma attack. Thanks!