From
Laurel Walker's column in the
Journal Sentinel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This is a followup to
a report several weeks ago that the Girl Scouts had rejected the girl.
For those who wondered if Magi Klages, 8, had a future in Girl Scouts, there's news.
She's the Oconomowoc girl with autism whose parents were told by troop leaders that she couldn't join the small special needs troop.
It looks as if she's a Brownie again, thanks to her former troop leader, Dina Johnston, and the Scout organization.
As I described in a column two weeks ago, Magi's parents, Michele and Kevin Klages, didn't think the troop leaders gave her daughter a chance to adjust after one meeting. Children with autism often have difficulty with new situations. Even though her parents were with her, Magi's behavior - biting herself, darting off - was seen as a threat to the other medically frail girls.
The Klageses also didn't think the Girl Scouts Wisconsin Southeast responded at first to their concerns, despite the national philosophy of reaching out to all girls, no matter what.
"Right now, I have a positive outlook," Michele Klages said Friday. The Girl Scouts consulted with the Autism Society of America and proposed several different troops that Magi could attend, but none was practical because of transportation or meeting times that conflicted with the parents' work schedule.
Then, this happened.
Johnston, Magi's former troop leader until the group grew so large and overwhelmed her, offered to help. She has agreed to organize a second, smaller monthly meeting of her troop at Park Lawn School starting in January.
"That's her school. She knows all the kids. Her comfort level is there," Johnston said. "I'm excited to be able to have Magi back in. The girls really responded well to her."
The column brought dozens of reader responses on both sides, and several involving children with autism who had positive and negative experiences.
Anita Rodriguez, vice president for organizational strategy at the southeast Girl Scouts chapter, said, "The bottom line for us is we do not discriminate and the Girl Scouts did not kick her out" but worked to find a solution.
Unfortunately, she said, the special needs troop that was tailored to the sedentary needs of the other three girls, including one with brittle bone disease, has disbanded after three meetings because parents and leaders were "uncomfortable with the publicity and how they were portrayed."
Maybe the arrangement wasn't a good fit for Magi and the others. Clearly, better communication and understanding all the way around was in order.
Some Cedarburg Girl Scouts have set a sterling example of understanding with a DVD they prepared to promote autism awareness for other children.
Troop leader Terri Willis said Kelsey Neuhauser, Nicole Grady and Kara Wischer, all sophomores at Cedarburg High School, spent last summer researching, writing and producing a DVD that has been circulated to elementary schools in Ozaukee County - part of their yearlong work toward their Silver Award.
"Sometimes, change is hard for kids with autism," the girls say at one point, almost as if they'd talked to Magi themselves.
From Laurel Walker's column in the Journal Sentinel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This is a followup to a report several weeks ago that the Girl Scouts had rejected the girl.