September / October 2005
Volume 23, Number 5

Being involved with Girl Scouting for the last nine years has been a wonderful opportunity for my daughter Mariah, and me.  It has given us the chance to be together with other girls while we explore many fascinating things in this world.  We learn about each other, we experience a wide range of emotions, we plan, we travel and we discover interesting things about nature and our role in the world around us.  Scouting has also provided the other girls in our troop with an opportunity to grow with Mariah, knowing that she has Down syndrome, but being very “matter of fact” all along. 

    On a broader level, the Girl Scout organization offers many programs and services that provide Mariah the opportunity to participate independently from her troop and me.  This summer she went to Camp Little Notch for two five-day sessions.  There were no other girls in her troop going at the same time so I was a little nervous about how it would work for her. She was very excited!  But she was also a little nervous.  It was interesting to hear her express her concerns, but she was not so nervous that it would make her change her mind about going off to camp.  When we arrived at the bus stop in Colonie we started chatting with a few girls who had matching nametags.  They were all going to be together at this session of camp.  They included Mariah in their conversation right away. I prompted a little discussion about the pre-camp jitters and they took off with it.  I knew right from then that it would be a great week!

    Five days later: meeting Mariah at the bus was exciting for me.  There were kids who were crying, laughing, singing, hugging and lamenting the end of what was a great week, obviously.  But my daughter was beaming!  She was glowing with happiness, self-fulfillment and feeling on top of her world.  I could see it in spite of the fatigue and mosquito bites.  At first she was able to give a list of activities that she did at camp.  I could see by her expressions that there was a lot more in her mind than the list.  But how frustrating not to be able to hear the stories that she must have to tell.  Expressive language is very difficult for Mariah, so getting to know her and “listening” to her stories by observing her expressions, filling in the details of a story with our own memories, and prompting more from her is the manner in which we get to know what goes on in her life when we are not there with her.  But there are still big holes in the story.  For instance, what were the other kids like?  Where were they from?  How did you feel when . . .? And so on.  Some of the issues that give life to a list are often left hanging.

    Two weeks after Mariah’s first session at camp a letter arrived from her counselor.  This is the letter that every parent would love to receive!  I would like to share this, not because it is about my daughter, but because it comes unsolicited from a 19 year-old college student who really wanted to communicate to us about her experience at Camp Little Notch.  She knew she would be working directly with a camper living with Down syndrome, but that’s about it.  “…when I met her (Mariah) I was blown away.  She is simply amazing and I thought that since she might have trouble telling all that happened, I might tell you about our week.”  “Rocky” goes on to list the twenty-three activities that Mariah did during the week.  And, “...made new friends by herself…and made tons of new friends.  I had such a good time. I thought a letter might be able to encompass how strongly I feel, but I just cannot express how unbelievably talented your daughter is.  I hope we both can return next summer so I can see her again.”   She concludes by writing, “Thank you so much for the chance to work with Mariah.”

    What makes me so happy to read this letter?  It isn’t the part that says that Mariah is amazing (I feel the same already, but that’s beside the point.)  It’s the fact that a stranger to our family had an open mind about a person, provided support, and opened the door for each of them to have the time of their lives at summer camp, and then thought it important enough to send her excitement to us in a letter.

    Including children with disabilities in camp, school, scouts and all other areas of community living is important to the health and well being of our entire society.  Convincing the people in administrative roles of this is challenging to say the least. But the rewards, such as the “letter from camp”, are many fold.   Inclusion is working for my daughter and for those people who embrace this philosophy with an open mind and an open heart.  Life is good, at least at Camp Little Notch!