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Sign on San Diego. In the picture, Boy Scout Troop 290 senior patrol leader Tim Higgins (right), 14, worked with Scout 2nd Class DJ Pope, 13, on tying a series of knots.
SAN DIEGO Calif. — Before joining his Boy Scout troop, one member attempted suicide. Others found they didn’t fit in with Scouts elsewhere because of behavioral issues.
They have all been welcomed at Boy Scout Troop 290, which may be the only troop in the county composed of special-needs children.
“A lot of these kids get bullied because they are developmentally and socially a little bit behind,” said Dayon Higgins, one of the troop’s leaders. “Because of that, a lot of times they get picked on. And your more typical children aren’t as supportive.”
They get plenty of support here. Troop 290 was formed in 2008 by San Diego’s Balboa City School, a charter campus that draws children from throughout the county. All of the Scouts are students at the school near Balboa Park and they meet each week during school hours.
While anyone can join the troop, its focus is on boys who have “learning differences” such as dyslexia, autism or ADHD. There are currently about a dozen Scouts in the troop. Those involved in the program say Scouting is a great opportunity for special-needs children.
“The Boy Scouts is highly educational and achievement-oriented, but not academic. So, for boys who are ahead or behind, it’s a great equalizer because they’re applying reading and writing skills toward earning merit badges,” said Stephen Parker, principal and co-founder of the school. “It also gives them a forum to develop leadership skills because they should be Scout-led.”
On a recent Tuesday afternoon, Tim Higgins — one of the older Scouts, at 14, and Dayon Higgins’ son — was teaching new Scouts how to tie knots. They learned the difference between granny knots and square knots, how to fuse rope and how to tie a whip. The boys followed along in their manuals, tying and looping and tugging on color-coded ends of rope.
Dayon Higgins was leading the group of more experienced Scouts through the citizenship requirement, asking them what they remembered about a trip to the National Archives in Maryland and who their state senators were.
Higgins said that the purpose of merit badges is to introduce the boys to different vocations. The boys in her troop have discovered they like activities like sculpting or camping or shooting guns because of Scouting. Their involvement has given them confidence in learning new things and achieving what other students achieve.
“When they get these achievements, you should see their little chests. They’re so proud. Their heads go up,” she said.
From Sign on San Diego. In the picture, Boy Scout Troop 290 senior patrol leader Tim Higgins (right), 14, worked with Scout 2nd Class DJ Pope, 13, on tying a series of knots.