Badges for merit & friendship

Boy Scout Kyle Adams earned his basketry merit badge by occasionally coming over to hold the reeds as his father, Keith Adams, wove the basket.

Although his father did most of the work, 22-year-old Kyle helped out as best he could — and earned the badge.

Adams is autistic, and like all of the other young men in Boy Scout Troop 419, he does things a little differently.

Renton-based Troop 419 is one of few special-needs Boy Scout troops in the region. Started 10 years ago by a group of parents who wanted their developmentally disabled children to have the same experiences as other kids, the Scout troop gives the young men a chance to achieve goals and be rewarded.

"For these guys, rewards are huge because they get darn few in life," said the scout master Dr. Ted Kadet.

Because of a range of developmental disabilities, many of the troop's 17 members are much older than the 21-year-old maximum imposed on other troops. The merit badges are tailored to the group's abilities, and, unlike most troops, they earn their badges together, not individually.

Many of the Scouts have been in the troop since it began. For old and new members, the troop becomes an important part of their lives.

"My Scout friends, they are my family," said Scout Jesse Stanford.

Taking part in their own way

A recent meeting of Troop 419 starts with the ceremonial procession of the honor guard. The Scouts gather, dressed in khaki shirts crossed with a green sash and a red bandanna secured snug at the neck.

Tonight, they're earning a music merit badge by listening to samples of different music genres. The Scouts crowd around Kadet, listening to his patient, steady voice as he teaches them about Johnny Cash, jazz and Dixieland.

Each Scout participates in his own way. While some don't speak or sit for the meeting, others appear fully engaged with the activity of the moment.

Kadet garners as much attention from the Scouts as possible.

"He has a natural charisma and personality," said Keith Adams, one of the troop's founding parents.

Troop 419 is based in Renton, but draws members from all over King County.

It's the only special-needs troop in the Green River District and, as far as District Executive Carlos Avila knows, it's the only troop like it in the Chief Seattle Council, which covers Western Washington.

"They provide a really good program for these kids," Avila said.

Typically, he said, special-needs kids simply join their local troop.

Roots of Boy Scout troop

When Kadet met his wife, Gay Silvestri, and her son Colin more than a decade ago, the boy wasn't doing much outside the home. Seizures at birth left Colin Silvestri, now 25, developmentally disabled, and he spent his time outside of school watching television or playing on the computer.

Kadet, a former camp counselor, thought Colin might benefit from the social activities in Boy Scouts. In the 1990s, Kadet and several other parents signed a charter with Boy Scouts of America to establish a local special-needs troop. They recruited people from the developmentally disabled community to join.

Professionally and personally, Kadet's background has prepared him for his role as scout master. An ophthalmologist and vision therapist at the Hope Clinic in Bellevue, he works with patients, often developmentally disabled children and adults, to retrain their visual system so they can function better in society.

When working with his Scouts, Kadet said he sees each young man as an individual, each with his own challenges.

Scouting changes the young men in Troop 419, Kadet said. At first, many of them don't want to participate — they sit timidly along the wall on the outside of the room and watch. One young man wouldn't talk when he first joined the troop, but after a few meetings he progressed to singing with others, Kadet said.

"They make friends they may not have had before," Keith Adams said.

Kadet has seen the positive changes in his own son.

"It's made a huge difference to Colin over the years because it's forced him to be social," Kadet said.

Reaching out to others

But above all, Troop 419 is a Boy Scout troop. They hike, bike, go stargazing and attend summer and winter camps every year. They look forward to partaking in an annual peace march at the Peace Arch Park at the U.S.-Canada border.

Kadet believes that while this troop is a start, the special-needs Scouting program needs to expand. He suggests the Boy Scouts of America hire a coordinator to run special-needs Scouting programs and reach out more to parents.

There are many more young men who could benefit from being in a troop like this, but parents don't know that special-needs Scouting exists, he said.

Lauren Vane: 253-234-8604 or lvane@seattletimes.com