Being cheered along by your comrades as you trudge over a snowbound trail. Learning to classify flora and fauna. Earning badges, rising gradually through the ranks. Going camping, horseback riding, rock-climbing, even scuba-diving. Gaining confidence. Making friends. Finding out who you are, what you like to do and what you're able to do.

Those are some of the things that happen to boys and girls who get involved in Scouting. And if you think such things couldn't happen to your child because of a disability due to muscular dystrophy, spinal muscular atrophy or any of the disorders in MDA's program, you may want to think again.

The Scouting program lasts roughly from age 7 to adulthood, from Cub Scout to Eagle Scout for boys and from Brownie to Senior Scout for girls. Many children, disabled or not, have the stamina and the desire to attain the highest levels in the program. Others join Scouting just for a year or two and gain a great deal from it.

A number of modifications and allowances can be made for Scouts with disabilities, such as permitting them to enter the program or earn honors beyond the usually stipulated age, or by providing alternative requirements for merit badges and ranks.

Rank and badge requirements can't simply be waived; alternate requirements that are within the Scout's capabilities must be fulfilled. Parents will need to provide written evidence from a physician stating that the disability is of a permanent nature and also that the requirements in question can't be completed due to the disability.

Back-packing and other rugged activities certainly make up a portion of Scouting activities. But even if there's no way that a particular activity can be modified to suit a child with a disability, Scouting should provide alternate activities that the child can enjoy just as much.

"The nice thing about Scouting was that there was an appreciation for intellectual development as well as the other kinds of activities," says Chris Rosa of Flushing, N.Y., a 30-year-old advocate and educator in disability rights who has Becker muscular dystrophy and serves on MDA's Board of Directors. "For certain badges, I would be able to write things, and that's always been a strength for me."

"The program is kind of like a smorgasbord," says Bob Lanphar, former assistant council commissioner for Special Needs Scouting in Orange County, Calif. "You pick what's right for you. The operative word in the Scouting movement is 'Do Your Best.'"

Similar latitude is provided in the Girl Scouts. "You're not necessarily hiking and camping all the time, that's only once in a while," says Mandy Van Benthuysen, 17, of San Diego, Calif., who has limb-girdle muscular dystrophy and was involved in Scouting from the time she was 7 until ninth grade. She currently serves as MDA's National Youth Chairperson. "Not everything you do in Girl Scouts takes a whole lot of physical abilities."

When Mandy would go horseback riding with the Scouts, efforts would be made to find her the skinniest horse available so it would be easier for her to stay upright. And if, while on a hike, fatigue would overcome Mandy's legs, one of the adults present would carry her for a while.

Mandy's mom, Ginny, recalls: "She loved all the camaraderie, the singing, the sitting around the campfire, working on badges."

"If there's some stuff you can't do, there's always going to be somebody to help you, because that's what Girl Scouts is all about," Mandy says.

LIVING FOR SCOUTING

A.J. Brockman, 9, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., has spinal muscular atrophy. He really enjoys Scouting activities such as fishing, camping, boating, and identifying plants and flowers at the state park.

"He'd really rather do Boy Scouting than just about anything else," says his mom, Jo. "I think he'd be depressed if he didn't have those kinds of things to look forward to."

When the Scouts play soccer, A.J. -- whose wheelchair gives him wide blocking power -- invariably is chosen to be the goalie.

Jackie Griffiths of Sparks, Nev., has a 12-year-old son, Stephen, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

"He lives for Scouting," she says. "He's participated in scuba diving with Scouting twice; he's done rock climbing. He has to work twice as hard to get where he's going, but he's excelled quite nicely. I think he's up to nine merit badges now. We've sat down and determined what merit badges Stephen will have no trouble earning; what merit badges must be modified for him to earn; and what merit badges there's no way he'll be able to get."

"The only modifications that we make and the agreements that I have with the troop is that he has an adult, either myself or somebody designated by me, to assist him with bathing and dressing and those types of things. I've shown some of the bigger boys how to work with him, for instance how to get his braces on and off, how to get him in and out of his chair."

"I just don't want to see him sitting in front of the TV playing Nintendo," Jackie says. "Scouting gives him a place to go weekly, lets him meet boys his age and older that he can socialize with and learn things from."

Chris Rosa remembers that there was a strong commitment among his troop to include him in all Scouting activities. "I vividly remember my one and only camping trip with the Scouts, having to hike about two miles in the snow to the campsite, when I could barely walk as it is. I fell a lot, but I'd be straightened up by two of my peers, my friends, who were committed to seeing me get there."

He laughs at the memory. "Sometimes there's a price to pay for inclusion, I guess. But overall, it was a really good experience."

PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT

"My dad was there on that trip," says Rosa. "I think on some level he was there to keep an eye on me, but also to make sure I would always be able to do the things that other Scouts were able to do."

Susan Norton of South Portland, Maine, decided to become a Cub Scout den leader when her son Michael, now 10, signed up for Scouting. Michael has Duchenne MD.

"I took an eight-hour training session," Susan remembers. "Of course, one of my first questions was do the Scouts accept kids of all different abilities. They said they welcome everybody."

She found that Michael enjoyed Scouting immensely, but it helped that she was there. "I have to kind of pave the way so people know what his abilities are. But he loved all the activities. Camping, bowling, the Jamborees -- the only thing we didn't participate in was the long hikes."

"Parents are very critical to making Special Needs Scouting a success," says Bob Lanphar. Unfortunately, not all parents see the value of get-ting involved. "We have situations where parents have used Scouting as a baby-sitting service. They've just dropped off their sons and they've disappeared." This can lead to an unfortunate situation in which the adult leader has to focus inordinate time or attention on the child with the disability to the detriment of the troop as a whole.

Ben Cumbo, whose 10-year-old son, Benjamin, has Duchenne and has served as MDA's National Goodwill Ambassador for the past two years, was gradually drawn in to become an assistant den leader. "I was one of those parents who would hang around as opposed to dropping him off. I would help out wherever they needed a hand. The next thing I knew they had an application in front of me signing me up."

"There's a physical fitness requirement in a lot of the activities," says Ben, whose family lives in Upper Marlboro, Md. "Instead of doing jumping jacks and so forth, Benjamin would do stretching. He's very attuned to stretching, and he would lead the stretching exercises for the group."

PINEWOOD MEMORIES

Chris Rosa recalls that when he first encountered the pinewood derby when he was 9 or 10, the progression of his muscular dystrophy was beginning to stir doubts about his own abilities. "I didn't feel I had that much control over my physical environment, and it seemed that all my successes were in the intellectual domain."

A Cub Scout tradition, the pinewood derby is a race in which small, hand-carved cars are propelled by the force of gravity down a sloping track.

"You had to create your own cars," recalls Chris. "I was really reluctant to do it, because I knew at some point you had to run alongside your car to push it to make sure it reached the end of the race. But then I did it and it went much better than I expected, and I remember feeling much better about myself. Something as simple as that went a long way toward making me feel that I would be OK."

"He enjoyed the pinewood derby a lot, he was very competitive with that," says Susan Norton of her son, Michael.

Brandon Squire of Highland, Utah, who's 13 and has Duchenne, liked it, too. "His car won first place," his mom, Janie, remembers. "The other boys were just as ecstatic for him as he was for himself. They were celebrating with him."

"Learning what the Scouts represent, what they stand for, makes him try harder," Janie says. "And when they get their awards, and Brandon hears his name called out, that's truly a thrilling moment for him."

LEARNING ABOUT EACH OTHER

Janie believes that, in addition to boosting Brandon's self-esteem, Scouting has sharpened his social and communication skills. "He's had to teach the other boys about what he can do, what he can't do, what's happening with his muscles. It's helped him to talk about the disease, and not to be afraid to be around people."

Jackie Griffiths recalls how she helped arrange a special learning experience for Stephen and his fellow Scouts. "At one of the meetings, a friend of mine, Robert, who was paralyzed from the waist down in an accident, came to talk to them," she says. "They're used to Stephen's disability, so the idea was that they would be able to see a disability that was different from Stephen's."

"Both Robert and Stephen talked about their different disabilities, how Robert could drive, why Stephen wouldn't be able to. The boys actually even asked Robert about going to the bathroom, how he does things versus how Stephen does things. I think it was very enlightening for everybody who participated."

"We have a meeting every Friday night," says Ben Cumbo. "At one of our meetings, the subject was people with disabilities. We were able to talk about Benjamin's disability. That seemed to be extremely helpful to the other kids. Benjamin got up and talked. I got up and talked. It was a good, good meeting."

In 1996, the Boy Scouts Greater New York Council held a Disability Awareness Camporee. Able-bodied Scouts learned about disabilities by running relays with bricks tied to their shoes, performing tasks while blind-folded, and moving from a simulated wheelchair to a simulated toilet without using legs or feet.

Chris Rosa believes that just by being in the troop he helped the others to be better Scouts. "I was only able to participate in the activities because I got a lot of cooperation from my friends. Having a Scout with a disability in the pack put the values they espoused in Scouting to a true test."

EYE ON THE EAGLE

"It's very fun!" says Benjamin Cumbo, who would recommend Scout-ing to any kid, disabled or not. "I would say, don't be afraid to join. Go ahead and take a shot at it. If you don't like it, that's OK. But see what it's like."

Benjamin has voiced a desire to attain the top rank, Eagle Scout. "With that kind of determination, I'm going to support him, and be there with him for everything he wishes to do," says his father, Ben.

Brandon Squire has been thinking along the same lines. "His dad earned his Eagle," says Janie. "So I know that's something that's always in the back of Brandon's mind, earning the Eagle."

Bob Lanphar emphasizes that youngsters with disabilities have extra latitude attaining this top honor in that they don't have to complete their Eagle by the usually required age of 18. "I've seen boys with electric wheelchairs who go all the way to Eagle Scout, and I've seen Scouts who are as old as 57 earning their Eagles," he says.

A.J.Brockman's mom, Jo, doesn't know if her son will be up to the physical challenge of earning his Eagle, even given that flexibility. But she says A.J. enjoys the camaraderie and activities so much that there's no question about his remaining in Scouting for a while.

"We want to expose him to as many things as possible, so he can have as fulfilling a life as possible," she says. "He's a Boy Scout, and he loves camping, making pizzas, being with friends, and so many other wonderful things that Scouting does for any child."

OPEN DOOR POLICY

In their public information materials, both the Boy Scouts of America (B.S.A.) and the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. (G.S.U.S.A.) acknowledge that youngsters with disabilities are fully entitled to participate in Scouting and that a policy of mainstreaming in which disabled Scouts are included with non-disabled Scouts may be best for all concerned:

"Because Girl Scouting brings together girls from different racial, ethnic, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds as well as girls with varying levels of physical and mental abilities, it offers an ideal environment for them to explore different cultures and better understand others. Girl Scouting is committed to promoting pluralism and to helping girls identify and eliminate prejudicial behavior in themselves and others." -- from the G.S.U.S.A. Web site.

"While there are troops composed exclusively of Scouts with disabilities, experience has shown that Scouting works best when such boys are 'mainstreamed' -- placed in a regular patrol in a regular troop.

"Begin with the Scout's parents; seek guidance from them on how best to work with their son. Seek help from the Scout's teacher, doctor or physical therapist. Each Scout will be different, so no single plan will work for every Scout. If the troop is short on personnel, ask the Scout's parents to help, or assign one or more skilled older Scouts to be of assistance. It will take patience, but the rewards will be great, for you and for the members of the troop." -- from the B.S.A. publication, "A Scoutmaster's Guide to Working with Scouts with Disabilities"

"It is the purpose of the Boy Scouts of America to provide for youth an effective program designed to build desirable qualities of character, to train them in the responsibilities of citizenship, and to encourage physical fitness and positive personal development. With these goals, scouting can provide a program for all youth -- with and without disabilities.

"It is a movement dedicated to bringing out the best in people, one of the few left in the world in which the emphasis is not on winning as an end result, but on the far more demanding task of doing one's best." -- from the B.S.A. publication, "Understanding Cub Scouts with Disabilities"

SIGN ME UP!

Look under "Boy Scouts" and "Girl Scouts" in the business section of your telephone directory's white pages to contact your local Scouting council. Often, there are in-school presentations about Scouting that take place early in the school year.

Internet users can log onto www.bsa.scouting.org or www.girlscouts.org to get information on Boy Scouting and Girl Scouting.

"On my honor, I will try:
To serve God and my country,
To help people at all times,
And to live by the Girl Scout Law."
-- THE GIRL SCOUT PROMISE

"Be Prepared."
-- THE BOY SCOUT MOTTO