We offer special needs courses at the council’s two main training events:

• The University of Scouting is open to all Scouters and typically held the last Saturday in October. Unfortunately, UoS is not offered in 2020, due to COVID-19.
• The Commissioners’ College, open to all adult leaders, is usually offered the first Saturday in February and is tentatively slated for 2/6/2021 . However, its special needs curriculum is not yet determined.

Please consult our calendar to locate the latest information about upcoming events.

The University and College offerings are typically based on official BSA curricula.  Unfortunately, the existing BSA special needs courses have been retracted. Their replacements are under review and not yet released.  In the meantime, we offer a general disabilities awareness course adapted from a BSA deck and supplemented by our team. We also offer Special Needs Roundtables from time to time. 

Training and disabilities awareness offerings can be provided on request for District Roundtables, summer camps, Wood Badge, NYLT, unit meetings, etc.  To make such arrangements, please send us an email.

We also encourage units to build special needs awareness into their annual programs. Some natural ways to do this are to pursue Cub Scouts Disabilities Awareness Academics Belt Loop and Pin and the Disabilities Awareness Merit Badge for Scouts BSA. 

Another good way to stimulate awareness is to review short videos, such as,

• Walk in the Shoes of Those with Disabilities (2:25). Scouts interview a man who is missing a foot, then learn about disabilities through awareness exercises.
• Zeb’s Story (5:10). Learn how adult leaders, parents and other Scouts worked together to integrate Zeb, a youth with Down syndrome, into Denver Area Council’s Troop 767.
• Confessions of a Bully (3:46). How a Cub Scout with ADHD bullied another Scout, then made amends and became friends.
• ADHD Scouts (5:13). Scoutmaster Dave explains to adult leaders what ADHD is, why Scouting is good for kids that have it, and how to work with those kids and their parents.
• Scouting with Disabilities (4:36). Family, friends and adult leaders explain how an autistic youth has benefited from, and contributed to, his Scout troop.
• Boy earns 132 merit badges despite disability (2:02). An autistic youth earned all possible merit badges by the age of eighteen.
• Trail to Eagle Part 5 of 6 — Scouts with Disabilities (4:48). A quick course on the accommodations available on the path to Eagle.