On Tue, 22 Aug 2006 09:01:49 -0400, Mark Probert
<markprobert@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>PresidentDouche@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
>> On 21 Aug 2006 20:07:05 -0700, "Fred Goodwin, CMA"
>> <fgoodwin@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>>
>>> Disabled Boy Scout soars to rank of Eagle
>>>
>>> <http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/15321875.htm>
>>> http://tinyurl.com/oy3qt
>>>
>>> Posted on Mon, Aug. 21, 2006
>>> LAKELAND
>>>
>>> Eighteen-year-old A.J. Trueblood refused to let the limitations of
Down
>>> syndrome keep him from attaining Scouting's highest rank.
>>>
>>> BY MATTHEW PLEASANT
>>> The Lakeland Ledger
>>>
>>> A.J. Trueblood leaned over a piano at the First United Methodist
Church
>>> of Lakeland and played the first few notes of The Star-Spangled
Banner.
>>> A group of khaki-clad Boy Scouts marched an American flag through the
>>> auditorium.
>>>
>>> ''He forgot his music book at home,'' his father, Bart Trueblood,
said.
>>> But ``he'll make it.''
>>>
>>> A.J. Trueblood is used to making it despite the obstacles. Growing up
>>> with Down syndrome, he might have been expected to deviate from the
>>> rules, skip the hard part, or simply pass go because of his physical
>>> and mental disabilities. But he usually spurns short cuts. That's why
>>> the 18-year-old Boy Scout stuck to the rule book when he set out to
>>> earn Eagle status, Scouting's highest rank. He wanted to earn it just
>>> like everyone else.
>>>
>>> Serenading his own ceremony, the McKeel Academy senior took the Eagle
>>> Scout oath at a ceremony at the First United Methodist Church. More
>>> than 100 people attended.
>>>
>>> ''The kid obviously has limitations, but you would never convince him
>>> of it,'' said Troop 760 Scoutmaster Jim Mock, who has worked with A.J.
>>> for many years.
>>>
>>> 21 MERIT BADGES
>>>
>>> To become an Eagle Scout, A.J. had to complete a community service
>>> project of his own devising. He also had to earn a set of 21 required
>>> merit badges, which range from plumbing to lifesaving, before he
turned
>>> 19.
>>>
>>> Down syndrome made almost every step a challenge. The genetic
disorder,
>>> caused by an abnormal number of chromosomes, manifests itself in
mental
>>> and physical handicaps. Children with Down syndrome usually experience
>>> varying levels of mental retardation and developmental problems.
>>>
>>> With his disabilities, he could have been exempted from earning
certain
>>> badges or completing his project within the time frame of the age
>>> requirement. But he chose not to disclose his condition when applying
>>> to become an Eagle Scout.
>>>
>>> ''The only way someone would have known he had Down syndrome is if
>>> you'd have worked with him one-on-one,'' Mock said.
>>>
>>> At the ceremony, three tables were dedicated to photos and artifacts
>>>from A.J.'s time in the Boy Scouts, the last covered with photos from
>>> his Eagle Scout project.
>>>
>>> For his project, A.J. landscaped Noah's Nest, a house near the First
>>> United Methodist Church owned by Noah's Ark of Central Florida. The
>>> organization helps provide living spaces to people with disabilities.
>>> Currently, three women with development disabilities live in the
house.
>>>
>>> ''He drew up the plans, grew the plants,'' said his mother, Suzanne
>>> Trueblood. Hibiscus, gardenias and crotons were among the foliage he
>>> grew or organized to have donated for the house's lawn. ``He'd go out
>>> in the backyard and water them after school.''
>>>
>>> A.J. got a local company to donate a concrete slab to be used as a
>>> patio and built a trellis for the backyard. Although the project was
>>> completed in February 2003, A.J. still needed to earn several badges
>>> before he could become an Eagle Scout.
>>>
>>> CHALLENGES
>>>
>>> Among the badges that tested his disabilities was public speaking,
>>> which, because of his speech impediment, took him longer to complete.
>>>
>>> One of the most challenging parts of attaining Eagle status was
filling
>>> out the required paperwork.
>>>
>>> ''I did all the homework,'' A.J. said, miming with his hands as if he
>>> were writing with pen and paper.
>>>
>>> ''We really wanted him to learn and understand what he was doing, so
we
>>> had him fill out the paperwork and information himself,'' his mother
>>> said. ``It takes him a lot longer but he never gave up. He's the only
>>> one [from his original troop] to stay in the organization and earn an
>>> Eagle Scout badge.''
>>>
>>> HAS STRONG POINTS
>>>
>>> Although a few of the merit badges posed big challenges to A.J., his
>>> mother said he displayed advanced abilities in other areas.
>>>
>>> ``I was very surprised by his swimming. He also has great directional
>>> ability, as far as finding his way and not getting lost.''
>>>
>>> Designating a child as handicapped is not required for disabled
>>> children entering the Boy Scouts.
>>>
>>> Warren Wenner, executive director of the Gulf Ridge Boy Scout Council
>>> in Tampa, said an alternative route to Eagle Scout can be created
based
>>> on a child's disabilities but that the decision is solely up to the
>>> parents.
>>>
>>> Wenner's son, who has cerebral palsy, became an Eagle Scout through an
>>> alternative route.
>>>
>>> ''My son couldn't swim, so obviously he can't earn the swimming
>>> badge,'' he said. ``Working with a troop committee and, in some cases,
>>> special education teachers, we can look at the required badges and
>>> substitute them with others.''
>>>
>>> Wenner, who worked as executive director of the Southern Illinois Boy
>>> Scout Council, said that in his former council, about 10 percent of
Boy
>>> Scouts had disabilities.
>>>
>>> ''Those special needs ranged from learning disabilities like dyslexia
>>> to multiple handicaps,'' he said.
>>>
>>> National Boy Scout officials said 49,895 Scouts earned Eagle rank in
>>> 2005. National statistics on how many were disabled weren't available.
>>>
>>> ''We do not categorize by disability or those not having a
>>> disability,'' said Renee Fairrer, associate director of marketing and
>>> communication at the National Boy Scouts Council in Paris, Texas. ``It
>>> is relatively unusual. Many times, we do not see special needs Scouts
>>> achieve Eagle within the age limit.''
>>>
>>> More detailed statistics are kept at the local level, she said.
>>>
>>> ''That's quite an achievement that he met all those requirements that
>>> any other fully abled Scout would be able to,'' Fairrer said. ``That's
>>> really saying something for this young man.''
>>>
>>> Anyone who reaches the rank of Eagle Scout has attained an impressive
>>> accomplishment.
>>>
>>> ''Only about 4 percent of Boy Scouts make it to Eagle,'' said Tony
>>> Williams, a father who is involved in the Boy Scouts and who spoke at
>>> A.J.'s ceremony. ``When they get to high school, they get into girls,
>>> cars, s****ts or anything else that takes up their time. That's why
it's
>>> such an achievement.''
>>>
>>> And not everyone gets such a large ceremony.
>>>
>>> ''It's up to the parents. I've seen some who don't get the recognition
>>> that they deserve,'' Williams said. ``He got his.''
>>
>> Only shows that you have to be retarded to want to be a Bigoted Scout
>> Of America.
>
>While I am no defender of scouting, the only one who is "retarded" is
>someone such as yourself who makes comments like this.
>
>"Retardation" comes in many forms. Thanks for showing one of them.
Your little soap box is warping...like your retarded mind.
>
>
>Note: I would say you are developmentally delayed, but, alas, there is
>no evidence that you have any more developing to do.
You'd have to be retarded to join an organization that believes that
if you call a head of lettuce your "God" that gives you moral
character and that has anything to do with making a knot or starting a
fire. Two Boy Scouts slogans: "Be Prepared" and "Thanks Gods."
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