ScoutHitch
Back to Hitch Guide

Cubs Who Care

Cub Scouts · Adventure, Elective

Printable worksheet (PDF)

Cubs Who Care helps you understand what life is like for people with disabilities. You'll try activities that show how people move, see, and hear in different ways. Learning this helps you be a kinder, more thoughtful friend.

Why it's worth it

Cubs Who Care helps you understand how people move, see, and hear in different ways. You'll try a few activities that give you a small taste of daily life with a disability, and you'll look for the ramps, signs, and sounds that help everyone get around. People with disabilities do the same things you do, sometimes in different ways. Knowing that makes you a better friend and teammate.

Start this week

  1. Look around your school or a store this week for ramps, elevators, Braille signs, or automatic doors.
  2. With your adult, try to button a shirt or open a snack using only one hand.
  3. Learn to fingerspell your first name in American Sign Language.
  4. Find a library book about a kid who uses a wheelchair, is blind, or is Deaf.

Requirements · 4

Every official requirement and part, numbered to match Scouting America, in plain language. Sign off against the official wording (opens in a new tab).

  1. Requirement 1

    Explore what it is like to have a physical disability

    Tip: Try a simple task, like stacking blocks, using only one hand. Talk about how it felt.

    For example: Try a simple task one-handed, like making a sandwich or building a block tower. Then talk about tools or tricks that could make it easier, like a jar opener or a different grip.

  2. Requirement 2

    Explore what it is like to have a visual impairment

    Tip: With a buddy guiding you, try walking a short safe path with your eyes covered.

    For example: With a buddy guiding you by the elbow, walk a short, clear hallway with your eyes covered. Then switch places. Talk about which words from your guide helped most.

  3. Requirement 3

    Explore what it is like to have hearing loss

    Tip: Wear earmuffs or earplugs and try to follow directions. What helped you understand?

    For example: Wear earmuffs while your den leader gives directions in a normal voice. Then try again with gestures, pictures, or a few signs. Talk about which way worked better.

  4. Requirement 4

    Explore barriers people face in getting around

    Tip: Look around your school or a store for steps, narrow doors, or ramps. What would help everyone get in?

    For example: Walk around your school or a park with your den and list what helps and what blocks the way: steps with no ramp, a heavy door, a curb cut, a wide smooth path.

Places to visit

Ask an adult to set it up, and go with your family, den, patrol, or crew.

  • An adaptive sports game or event

    Watching wheelchair basketball, beep baseball, or a Special Olympics event shows how athletes adapt a sport and play hard.

    How: Have your adult look for an event near you and ask if visitors are welcome. Go with your family or den and cheer.

Talk about it together

  • What was the hardest part of each activity, and what helped?
  • What did you notice for the first time about places you go every day?
  • What would you change at your school so everyone can get around?
  • How can you be a good friend to someone who moves, sees, or hears differently than you?

Good questions to ask a guest speaker who has a disability

  • What do you wish more people knew about your daily life?
  • What helps you most when you go somewhere new?
  • What's something you love to do that might surprise people?

Helpful reads

For leaders & parents

  • Invite a guest who uses a wheelchair, sign language, or a guide dog to share their experience.
  • Keep activities respectful and talk afterward about what scouts learned.

People & places that can help

Pairs well with

Counts toward

More Wolf adventures

Into this? Explore more

Tips, examples, and questions are ideas from experienced leaders, not extra requirements. Your unit leader or counselor decides when a requirement is complete.