Page 1 of 1 [ 5 posts ] 

SteelMaiden
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 19 Aug 2006
Age: 35
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,722
Location: London

12 May 2007, 2:30 pm

I am training to be a Leader for a cubs group in South London.

I went to a camp on bank holiday weekend to help out.
There were 1,200 kids (beavers, cubs, scouts, brownies and guides), but I spent a lot of time away from the noise.
However, the other leaders in my pack treated me like rubbish.
They did not understand my AS.
They thought that I was useless, not independent and slow-witted.
I couldn't remember where anything was stored, so when they asked me "get the cups", I couldn't remember where to find them.
There were WAY TOO MANY surprises, NOTHING was kept to schedule.
I often had to run to the forest and panic attack in private.
It was horrible.
I went to the cubs group last Thursday, as normal, and the leaders barely talked to me.

But one good thing is that the kids really enjoy my company.


_________________
I am a partially verbal classic autistic. I am a pharmacology student with full time support.


alexbeetle
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 16 Mar 2007
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,314
Location: beetle hole

12 May 2007, 2:45 pm

I helped out at a camp once but was lucky to find a niche, I was the only adult there who didn`t mind the bugs and weeds in the water just like the kids didn`t, so was supervising the swimming in the lake. This was almost continuous daily activity for different groups at different times so the numbers were not too high and the other adults kept pretty much away. I also had consistency. We also did problem solving activities in small groups one day which I really enjoyed, again small group of kids and just me, no other adults. A lot of the rest of the time was not nice, I did not sleep properly at all.
I was involved with cubs when my son went but they really hated me to the point of not telling me where or when activities were taking place, eg trips to the woods, so we had to search round for them and my son missed out unfairly.
I think you are very brave to become a scout leader and wish you success. It is the kids that matter at the end of the day not the other leaders.


_________________
Any implied social connection is an artifact of the distance between my computer and yours.

It might look like I'm doing nothing, but at the cellular level I'm really quite busy.


SteelMaiden
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 19 Aug 2006
Age: 35
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,722
Location: London

12 May 2007, 2:52 pm

Alexbeetle, thank you very much for your kind words.
I am doing it for the kids. They are wonderful and they have potential.


_________________
I am a partially verbal classic autistic. I am a pharmacology student with full time support.


foxman
Velociraptor
Velociraptor

User avatar

Joined: 17 Apr 2007
Age: 39
Gender: Female
Posts: 425

12 May 2007, 5:13 pm

I worked at a camp once...I got fired pretty much right away. I'm always impressed by people who can deal with people and kids well enough to work at a camp.

Also, I was a kid who went to camp, and I always loved the counsellors...so it's great that you're doing that for other kids.



SteelMaiden
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 19 Aug 2006
Age: 35
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,722
Location: London

13 May 2007, 11:50 am

Its the kids who really help me along. If the kids didn't like me, it would be difficult for me to work with them, but they do.


_________________
I am a partially verbal classic autistic. I am a pharmacology student with full time support.