Special Needs and Disabilities – Serving Scouts With Disabilities

The basic premise of Scouting for youth with disabilities is that all youth want to participate fully and be respected like every other member of the unit. While there are, by necessity, units exclusively composed of Scouts with disabilities, experience has shown that Scouting usually succeeds best when every Scout is part of a regular unit.

The following resources provide additional information about Scouts with disabilities.

General Resources

• Torch of Gold Award, No. 512-945
• Woods Services Award, No. 512-258
• Special Needs Scouting Service Award

Advancement

• Guide to Advancement, No. 33088, Section 10.0.0.0, “Advancement for Members With Special Needs”
• Individual Scout Advancement Plan, No. 512-936
• Request for Registration Beyond the Age of Eligibility, No. 512-935
• Eagle Rank Requirements 
• Application for Alternative Eagle Scout Rank Merit Badges, No. 512-730
• Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class Ranks Alternative Requirements

News Letter

• Abilities Digest Newsletter Archive
• Late Summer 2021

Trainings and Presentations

• Introduction to Working with Scouts with Special Needs and Disabilities, No. 510-071
• CED 713 – Advancement for Scouts with Special Needs – The Commissioner’s Role