"If I can get my PhD, you can get your eagle scout!"

Dr. Temple Grandin talks about how autistic kids and scouting.  She talks about how kids with autism and Asperger's syndrome can learn from scouting, the benefits they can bring to a troop, and the kinds of adaptations that will make activities more welcoming for them.  Highly recommended for parents, troop leaders, and others who work with groups that may include autistic kids (church and youth group leaders, for example). 

Go here to watch a great video about an autistic scout.

This video on autism in scouting might also help coaches and others.

What are the things that make scouting a positive experience for young people with Aspergers or autism?  What can leaders do to help a child on the spectrum fit in? And what can a parents do to try to help an organization like the Boy Scouts work successfully with their autistic children?

This video about a young man named Chase addresses those questions.  If you have a kid with ASD who is involved in scouting or considering scouting as an activity, I recommend it highly.

I also suggest this video as resource for leaders in situations similar to scouting-- I can see coaches, arts and music teachers, and youth leaders in churches getting great benefit from it.  Please consider sending a link to it to adults in the community who might need advice on how to help a child with autism fit into a group they ae leading.  The most important things: focus on the child as an individual and communicate that you care.

I also want to mention this video again, especially for adults who need a quick introduction to kids on the autism spectrum.  It takes most of the information a teacher would get in a half-day inservice in working with kids who have Aspergers and presents it in about half an hour. 

Click here to watch it.

If there are videos or other resources that you have have especially useful in helping adults understand and work successfully with you, or with your kid, please post them in the comments here or on the thAutcast Facebook page.