Was it a misunderstanding? Or some crazy mistake? Magi Klages' parents are wondering just that.
Their daughter with autism had been thriving for 2 years in a Girl Scout "Brownie program", an organization that pledges to "help people at all times" and to be "honest and fair, considerate and caring".
According to an ABC news report, when Magi's Brownie troop grew too large and her parents moved her to a smaller one for children with special needs, they never imagined their 8-year-old would be kicked out for being a "danger".
Magi's mother always accompanied her to the meetings and they thought the first one was going well for a child with autism in a brand new situation. Truthfully, Magi was having a tough time sitting down to do a project and needed to work through an episode of biting herself and running around at the meeting. She displayed many behaviors quite usual for children with autism but after the meeting the parents were called and told Magi could not come back.
The other children in the troop all have physical challenges and the troop leader alleged the other girls were afraid of her. Magi's parents are disturbed that their daughter was rejected because of her disability.
"We don't get it," said Michele Klages, who always accompanies Magi to the meetings. "She's 30 pounds and we were there. We were told she was scaring the other girls."
She said they had been up-front with the group leader about Magi, who is mostly nonverbal and relies on sign language to communicate. They were especially upset to learn the leader has a child with special needs.
It's terrible," said Michelle Tompkins, a spokeswoman for the Girl Scouts of the United States of America, who said she had received a "courtesy call" from the local council about the incident. "We are very inclusive and have a national policy against all forms of discrimination."
Anita Rodrigues, spokeswoman for the Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast, did not return several phone calls from ABCNews.com. But Michele Klages says the council contacted her about the possibility of finding another troop for Magi to join.
Even the Autism Society of America admits that the Girl Scouts do "wonderful work" with children with disabilities and has often contributed volunteers to help children with this neurological disorder. It says that children with autism are rarely dangerous to others and that the incident illustrates the need for more support and training in organizations like the Girl Scouts.
Why did this happen? We will probably never know as the Girl Scout are evoking confidentially and will not share details.
Sadly, this whole incident could demonstrate a lack of autism awareness and basic information about the disorder. Surely in a special needs program, leaders would possess the level of understanding, background and compassion to be able to include children with all special needs or ask for some more help.
If the other girls were scared of Megin's behavior, that would have been the appropriate time to have a teaching moment; discuss autism and common behavioral issues associated with it. Model understanding, empathy and kindness; that is the what the Girl Scouts are all about.
"These children are so misunderstood," said Michele Klages. "We need to educate ourselves that these kids can be loving and fun. They should be given a chance like any other child."
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Comments
Great column. You continue to bring to light articles and news that provide me the liberty to see multiple perspectives and learn. thank you.
Thanks Christine!
:-)
Unfortunately, a fact left out of this story is that one of the other Girl Scouts had brittle bone disease - another child running around the meeting place does pose a real danger to that girl. Since all the girls in the troop had special needs, it wasn't just Magi's situation that needed to be taken into consideration. And Magi wasn't kicked out of Girl Scouts - she was asked to find another troop that would be a better fit for all involved. That's why she left the first troop. Should Magi be a Girl Scout? Absolutely. Does the volunteer leader of a troop have a right to say what she can and can't handle? I would say yes. Magi's mom could become a leader - she'd certainly get a lot of support from the organization and community to start a troop especially suited to girls with autism. Instead we demonize the group that was simply trying to protect its members; the girls from the original troop quit because of the drama that ensued after ABC's story aired, yet here we still are...
Thanks hj,
You are right, there is always 2 sides. The original ABC piece did not bring that up.
But was Magi and her mother wrong to think that she would be welcomed in a "Special Needs" Brownie group? Was this kid being moved around because no one wanted to take her on?
Also, if her mother was there at each meeting, it sounds like she was in fact taking on the role of a troop leader. She was already committing to that.
Sounds like there was a lot of under current stuff going on here and I guess my point is it might have been handled a little better.
Hope we can all - including Girl Scouts - can learn something from it.
I do appreciate your input.
Thank you for your article. I always savor opportunities to gain new perspectives. I think that asking her to leave after only one meeting was a bit premature. It would have been the perfect opportunity to explain to her mom about the other child with brittle bone, and they all could have worked together to find a suitable way to conduct the meetings for all involved. Children with autism need a lot of support with change, and by the third, fourth meeting, she may have been able to handle the meetings with less outbursts. Thanks again for the great article!
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