Boy Scout With Autism And Down's Syndrome Gets His Badges Taken Away

Aug 22, 2019 by apost team

Logan Blythe loved being a Boy Scout. The Utah teen, who has Down's syndrome and autism, spent three years happily earning badges.

His local Boy Scouts council made some exceptions for Logan to account for his unique situation. His father explained to Yahoo Lifestyle that certain tasks weren't easy for his son. For the cooking badge, for example, Logan couldn't follow every direction to the letter. Even though he wasn't able to complete each job perfectly, the Boy Scouts gave him the badge.

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According to The Washington Post, Logan's dad was in close communication with the council. He never made it a secret that certain tasks were a challenge for Logan.

Things began to change when Logan decided to become an Eagle Scout. This is the top rank that any Boy Scout can earn. It's a prestigious honor that has been awarded for more than 100 years.

To become an Eagle Scout, Logan had to earn 22 badges. He also needed to demonstrate his leadership abilities through a service project. Logan decided to create kits for special needs babies. These kits would include things like blankets, and Logan would give them to local hospitals.

At first, everything seemed fine. The local council approved Logan's project, and he was excited to move forward. Just one day later, however, the council suspended Logan's project. They said that the national Boy Scouts office intervened, claiming that Logan hadn't actually earned his badges.

The Boy Scouts then stripped Logan of his badges. The local council apologized -- but not for Logan having his badges stripped. They apologized for giving Logan the badges in the first place.

This broke poor Logan's heart. His family decided to sue the Boy Scouts of America and their local chapter, The Washington Post reports. They claimed that the Boy Scouts' policy discriminated against kids who face unique challenges.

In addition to wanting the Boy Scouts to update their policies, they wanted the organization to give Logan his badges back. Logan and his family were victorious. The teen's badges were returned, and he became an Eagle Scout. His family hopes this will help others who are like Logan in the future.

Learn more about Logan's story in the video below:

What do you think about the Boy Scouts' actions? Do you think they should have stripped Logan's badges? Let us know your opinion and don't forget to pass this story on to your loved ones.