What Scouting Taught Me

When I was a child, I was often seen as the strange one.

At kindergarten and later at school, I did not easily fit in. I could spend hours playing computer games, and social situations often felt confusing or exhausting. From a young age, I regularly saw psychologists, and when I was ten, I was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome.

For a long time, being part of a group was difficult for me. I did not always understand what other people expected, and I did not always react in ways that others found easy to accept. Communication, emotions, and social situations were often challenging. I sometimes needed to withdraw completely. On one scout camp, I became so overwhelmed that I spent a whole day without speaking to anyone.

My parents were the ones who decided to try scouting. They did not know whether it would work, and neither did I. At first, the leaders were unsure too, but they decided to give me a chance.

That chance changed my life.

Scouting became one of the first places where I could learn how to be part of a group in a safer environment. It was not always easy, and I still had conflicts and difficult moments. But I was not simply pushed away for being different. I had space to learn, to make mistakes, and to slowly understand myself and other people better.

Over time, I moved from being an ordinary scout to becoming a patrol leader. Today, I work with a group of boys aged 11 to 14. In some ways, this still surprises me. Communication remains one of the most difficult parts of my life. Sometimes I think faster than I can speak, and it can be hard to put my thoughts into words clearly. Yet in scouting, I am also responsible for communicating with parents and supporting younger members of the group.

I have learned to work with my needs rather than pretend they do not exist. I use earplugs during meetings to reduce noise. I know that some sensory things, such as uncomfortable socks, can affect me more than people might expect. I have safe foods that I return to again and again. These things may seem small from the outside, but they make daily life more manageable.

Scouting also taught me a lot about inclusion. I believe it has great potential, because small groups can make it easier to notice what each person needs. Children can often be surprisingly accepting when they are given the chance. If someone does not understand something, another child may explain it. If someone needs help, others may offer it naturally.

At the same time, inclusion does not happen just because an organisation says it is open to everyone. Volunteers also have limits. They need support, training, and concrete strategies. It is not enough to wait and expect disabled or neurodivergent young people to come on their own. Inclusion means building bridges, not standing on one side and saying the door is open.

For me, scouting was one of those bridges.

It gave me a place where I could observe, learn, and practise social situations without being completely alone. It helped me understand my limits, my strengths, and the things I still need to work on. It gave me friendships, responsibility, and a way to contribute.

I often say that everything I have learned in life, I owe to scouting.

That may sound like an exaggeration, but for me it feels true. Scouting did not make me less autistic. It gave me a place where being autistic did not mean I had nothing to offer.

It helped me become someone who not only needed support, but could also support others.