BY MICHELLE ROSENBERG
Staff Writer
ABERDEEN — Most parents want to give their kids the world, and Kristina Bradley of Aberdeen is no different.
Bradley wanted to enroll her 7-year-old son in the Boy Scouts, but was reluctant due to minor behavioral problems caused by autism. So, Bradley decided to look into a special needs group so her son could participate.
“My son is autistic, and I couldn’t find a group that I thought he and I would be comfortable in,” Bradley said.
The first thing she did was call the Monmouth Boy Scout Council to get the location of the closest special needs group, but the nearest one in Freehold was too far for her. Therefore, she decided to work on setting up a group in Aberdeen.
“I knew there was a local group for special needs children over age 11. We’re trying to fill that gap,” she said.
“I worked with the Monmouth Council to create a new den that would fit special needs children,” she said.
Bradley started working immediately with Kathleen Kenny, the district executive of the council, on all the necessary paperwork and requirements to form the group.
“From the first phone call, she’s been the one working with me,” Bradley said. “She’s been fabulous helping with the process.”
Once Bradley hooked up with Kenny, she was told she needed to have at least three boys interested in joining.
“I started calling everyone I know with boys in the appropriate age range. I found two other parents and children that wanted to participate,” she said.
The group also needed to be chartered. Bradley’s husband approached the Cliffwood Beach Veterans of Foreign Wars, of which he is a member, and they happily accepted, Bradley said.
The group will be Tiger Scouts and will meet once a week at the Cliffwood Elementary School, where they will work on projects such as crafts, making tiger picture frames and time capsules, Bradley said. Once a month they will take a trip to various places such as museums, she said.
“They need the ‘go see it’ trips to get the rewards,” she said.
Bradley will be the den leader.
“Thankfully, the Boy Scouts have a lot of literature and step-by-step training,” she said.
“I think it’s going to be a smooth start. I’m pretty comfortable. I’ve got the first three months of meetings planned out,” she said.
She said the Tiger Scouts group requires parent participation, because many of the projects that need to be completed in order to earn rewards have to be worked on at home.
Bradley said the group will be split up depending on how many boys sign up. If 16 boys enroll, there is no reason for the 11-year-olds to be with the 6-year-olds, she said. They will be split up according to age and ability, she said.
“Everything will be at the individual boy’s pace. We’ll have them take as long as they need for rewards,” Bradley said.
The group is open to all local boys in the first grade and above who have any physical, mental, behavioral, social or learning disabilities. Registration will be held at the Cliffwood Elementary School Jan. 11 from 7 to 9 p.m. For more information, call Kristina Bradley at
(732) 765-1037.