James E. WestSince its founding in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America has had fully participating members with physical, mental, and emotional disAbilities. The first Chief Scout Executive, James E. West, had a disAbility. At age 7, his mother passed away and he was sent to an orphanage. Here it was discovered that he had an incurable disease in one leg that crippled him for life. This web site serves as an on-line resource, education tool, and link repository for all Scouters and parents who are involved in or have an interest in providing a Scouting opportunity for the disAbled.  

This site is supported by volunteer Scouters who believe in Scouting for those with disAbilities. It is our vision to provide the most up to date information to Scouters who have the opportunity and challenge of working with Scouts who have disabilities. There are numerous resources available throughout the world and on the World Wide Web. We hope that this site will help Scouters in need of those resources answer questions and provide examples of the many successes these Scouts can and have experienced through Scouting

While there are units composed exclusively of Scouts with disabilities, experience has shown that Scouting works best when such boys are "mainstreamed" --- included in a regular patrol in a regular pack, troop, team or crew.

This site is web accessible and serves as a model for other Scouting websites. The WWSWd website uses programming techniques and user-interface elements that are compatible with current accessibility aids. We encourage you to view the web accessibility page to learn about more features of this site and to see how to provide web accessibility on your site.

 
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The WWSWd team is sad to announce that a beloved member of our team, Colin M. McConnell, died on July 1, 2006, in Detroit, Michigan.  Colin epitomized the spirit of Working With Scouts With disAbilities and was intimately knowledgeable with the challenges of living with disabilities.  His wealth of Scouting knowledge and site design abilities were critical to the timely growth and development of this site. We miss him and dedicate our continued efforts in his memory.

 

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Sep 11th Unity RibbonThis page was last edited 03/04/08    
Materials found at the Working With Scouts With disAbilities (WWSWd) website ©1998- 2008 may be reproduced and used locally by Scouting volunteers for training purposes consistent with the programs of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) or other Scouting and Guiding Organizations. No material found here may be used or reproduced for commercial or other non-Scouting purposes without the express permission of the Working With Scouts With disAbilities Webmaster. WWSWd is not affiliated with BSA and does not speak on behalf of BSA. Opinions expressed on these web pages are those of the web authors. Contact your local Council Office for official communications of The Boy Scouts of America.

Webmaster: Anthony L. "Tony" Mei
WWSWd Initiatives: Jay W. Thal
Website Editor: Pat Mei

 

Last modified: 03/04/2008