Badges Of Courage (From the Hartford Courant)

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Badges Of Courage (From the Hartford Courant)

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Scout With A Form Of Autism Overcomes Obstacles To Become An Eagle

January 2, 2007

By DAVID OWENS, Courant Staff Writer

SOUTH WINDSOR -- For many Boy Scouts, learning to tie a bowline or a

taut-line hitch can be as tough as it gets.

For Robby Cvejanovich tying knots was easy. The challenge was

enduring the

stares and the teasing that he sometimes experienced because of his

tendency

to pace back and forth or talk to himself. Cvejanovich, 18, has

Asperger's

syndrome, a form of high-functioning autism.

Despite his disability and the teasing, scouting became a focus of

Cvejanovich's life, and earlier this year he achieved the rank that

only 4 percent of

all scouts reach: Eagle Scout.

The Boy Scouts of America allows some accommodations for scouts with

disabilities, especially when it comes to earning required merit

badges. But

Cvejanovich wanted no part of that.

" He fulfilled the requirements of any other boy, " said Hosig,

who

heads the Troop 186 committee. To be eligible for the Eagle rank, a

scout must

earn 21 merit badges, 12 of which are required. Cvejanovich earned 29.

" I went a little bit beyond, " Cvejanovich said.

People with Asperger's syndrome are often socially isolated and have

eccentric behaviors, especially in childhood, that cause them to

stand out. It can

also be characterized by a lack of social skills, a difficulty in

social

relationships and a limited range of interests or activities,

according to the

Connecticut Autism Society.

And Cvejanovich endured teasing and taunting.

" They tended to make fun of me a little bit, " Cvejanovich

recalled. " I pace,

I tend to talk to myself because I have AS. " When there was teasing,

Cvejanovich said he would " just shrug it off. "

Others in the troop, as they got to know Cvejanovich and understand

Asperger's syndrome, would look out for him.

" There was always that initial `meeting Robby phase' where people

were put

off and made fun of him a little, " said Spencer Hill, a fellow Troop

186 scout

who is on his way to earning the Eagle rank. " Most people were pretty

accepting after a while. "

As Cvejanovich grew older, those behaviors became less common, said

Randy

Olsen, the scoutmaster of Troop 186.

From his earliest days as a scout, Cvejanovich talked about becoming

an

Eagle Scout, his mother said. And she admits she was skeptical he'd

achieve the

rank.

" When he was 15, the spring of his freshman year [at South Windsor

High

School] he was mentioning that he was still hoping to do it, " Beth

Cvejanovich

said. " But he still had a dozen or so badges he was going to have to

earn. I

told him I didn't think it was possible for him to get all those

badges, based

on the fact he was only earning three badges a year. I couldn't see

how he

was going to be able to do it.

" He was crushed that I didn't have confidence in him, so, of course,

I felt

bad. "

Her son, she said, responded: " I want to show I can achieve

something. "

So mother and son sat down and charted a plan to earn 10 merit badges

that

summer. People in the community who knew Cvejanovich lent a hand.

Glen s, a Manchester police lieutenant who attends the

Cvejanoviches'

church, helped Cvejanovich with a law enforcement merit badge. And

the

leaders of Troop 186 did all they could to put Cvejanovich on a path

toward

success.

And then Cvenajovich earned the merit badges he needed that summer at

a

special camp session called " Eagle week. "

" That's when I knew he was going to do it, " his mother said.

Earning merit badges is only a portion of the requirements to reach

Eagle.

Cvejanovich also had to organize and complete a service project that

would

benefit the community. He decided to build a walkway at Wapping

Community Church

to make it easier for the elderly and disabled to reach the church's

outdoor

chapel.

Cvejanovich worked with church leaders to organize the project,

suppliers to

provide materials and then scouts and their parents to do the work.

Merit badges weren't Cvejanovich's only strengths as a scout. He was

good at

fire building and adept at knot tying, two skills many scouts

struggle to

master.

" Robby was the knot genius, " Hill said. " Whenever we needed to tie

knots in

a scout competition it was always, `Robby, how do we do this?' and

he'd jump

in there and tie whatever knot had to be tied in that situation. "

Scouting was critically important to Cvejanovich, more than it might

be for

other boys, because it was difficult for him to be involved in other

activities, his mother said.

" If it hadn't been for Boy Scouts, he would have had no social outlet

at

all, " said Beth Cvejanovich. " This was his only connection to

humanity outside

of high school. This was the only organization that offered camping

and

fellowship with other boys. He would not have been the kid he is

today without it. "

Cvejanovich received his Eagle rank at a ceremony in the fall. It was

a

special event for Robby and his parents.

" What was really wonderful about his Eagle Scout ceremony was that it

was

the only time we've got our community, family and friends together to

celebrate

an achievement of Robby, " Beth Cvejanovich said. " We've never had

that

experience with him. To have 50 people show up and celebrate Robby's

achievement

was really so joyous. "

Cvejanovich graduated from South Windsor High School and now attends

the

Institute for Innovative Learning, a program for disabled

adults who are

capable of college level work but who need extra support because of

their

disability, his mother said.

Having her son attain his goal of being an Eagle Scout has left Beth

Cvejanovich with the hope that her son will achieve more.

" It's made me feel that there's still hope that he's going to be

independent

one day, that he's going to eventually be able to go to college and

be

employable, " she said.

Contact Owens at dowens@....