Am I the only person who wonders about how this whole thing was handled… especially since I learn that the parents were both Lawyers… 
Just to let you know… I was Akela for 10 years and Acting Group Scout Leader for 2 years…and we had a really mixed bag of lads… 
My 16 year old grandson who has a handicap known as Autism Asperger was accepted as a scout d’europe in France , he is thrilled to go to the weekends and is accepted by the other scouts.
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Excellent, Carol.
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I couldn’t really make out what the problem was… why the parents felt the boy was being discriminated against.
It happens within any group of children… there will be some from broken-homes/or abusive situations/or with special needs … in fact anything which can lead to the child needing extra understanding and caring-attention.
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it reads that he had a couple of out bursts and ran away once. seems the scout leaders were unable to deal with it so refused him some stuff unless he was accompanied.
i think most f th damages was because they were identified to the other parents and they felt embarrassed or something.
Frankly… it is impossible to keep from the rest of the group … that a particular child needs extra care… in fact, it helps if everyone looks out for everyone else…
We never named the exact whys and wherefores, but all the children were taught to be tolerant of one another’s little foibles… and that is all part of growing up.
I once threatened to cancel a particular field-trip, as I felt the official adult-child ratio was unsafe. I stood my ground and explained my concerns to all the parents. Thankfully more volunteers then came forward and we achieved the one adult per 2 children, which had been my goal.
Phew… the squeals and laughter of delighted children and the broad smiles of the grown-ups … that is still one of my fondest memories of those happy days…
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I am not sure what the issues were in this case but I do know that it is easy to forget that we are talking about an organisation reliant on volunteers. The movement has a hard time recruiting suitable adults and consequently waiting lists grow. Situations like this would discourage me from putting myself forward nowadays. You can not compare what happens in a school setting to a scout camp staffed by amateurs. I think it is a real shame that the parents went to law and couldn’t come to some other agreement with the scouts More children will lose out on some wonderful experiences.
Regarding secrecy- my son would tell me all the ‘interesting ‘ goings on after scout camp and I doubt he is unusual.