World Autism Acceptance Week: Meet Rosie

By the age of nine Rosie was diagnosed with autism. She was a quiet, shy child, but since joining Scouts her confidence has grown.

From overcoming hurdles with autism, to facing bullying in school and mental health problems during the pandemic, Rosie’s been through a lot. She’s now channelling her energy into helping others.

Now, Rosie’s busy encouraging other young people in her local area to get involved in youth social action. She’s part of the Liverpool Football Club (LFC) Foundation Youth Panel, become an #iwill ambassador, and is both an Explorer and Young Leader in Scouts.

Here’s her story.

Joining Scouts

Rosie’s mum and dad were keen for her to join Scouts. Her dad comes from a Scouts background, having been in Explorers when he was younger. Since Rosie joined, her mum, Vicky, became a Cub leader and her dad now runs Beavers.

Rosie was apprehensive to begin with. The noise and new environment were unsettling. On her first weekend away, she felt more comfortable sitting out of activities. But everyone made her feel welcome and, after her first camp, she settled right in.

Her mum had been there as a volunteer to support and reassure her during Cubs. But her mum and dad were both keen to continue to lead in Beavers and Cubs, instead of moving to Scouts with Rosie.

When she moved from Cubs to Scouts, Rosie grew more independent than she’d ever been.

Now in Explorers, she gets on well with the volunteers. She knows she can go to them if she needs a support, such as asking for a moment to herself. And they’ll come and talk to her about her day. They’re always there to listen. Rosie told us that Scouts has given her a safe space to be herself. It’s something to look forward to where she’s made supportive friends.

She’s become more confident about trips away since she started, too. Rosie now researches places before trips or camps to help her prepare for them and feel more comfortable.

Loving the outdoors

Rosie loves the outdoors, going on camps and helping others. Through Scouts, she’s continued to grow in confidence.

Rosie used to be terrified of water and going on boats. Now in Explorers, though still nervous, she really enjoys a mixture of paddle sports. On a recent camp, canoeing and paddle-boarding were two she really loved. Crate-stacking was also in Rosie’s list of favourites!

‘Scouts has given her a good start in life, It’s thanks to her Scouts background that she’s had the confidence to do many things,’ Vicky, Rosie's mum, told us.

Rosie really enjoys first aid and the skills that come with it, such as learning to stay calm in emergencies and knowing to register a phone with the ambulance service.

Last year, Rosie attended the Mersey Moot, which has a disco, inflatables and a muddy obstacle course. Rosie’s team came 3rd for being muddiest.

Vicky was surprised when she saw the photos of how muddy Rosie had got. She said Rosie wouldn’t have entertained the idea of getting muddy before Scouts.

Rosie’s recently helped Beavers and Cubs earn their Athletics badges. She plans to become a volunteer when she turns eighteen.

Helping her community

Rosie is very involved in social action projects at Scouts. Helping people experiencing homelessness and food poverty is something Rosie is very passionate about.

Rosie’ mum volunteers at a local pantry, helping to keep people fed. It had to close over Christmas, but Rosie wanted to continue supporting families over the festive period.

Using her initiative, and with support, Rosie found a different venue and volunteers. Rosie and the volunteers were able to pack 60 bags with donated food and other essentials to help families at Christmas.

They provided warm drinks and refreshments over New Year too. And they organised shoe donations over the festive period, which Rosie really enjoyed helping with.

Liverpool Football Club Foundation and joining the youth panel

The Liverpool Football Club (LFC) Foundation started supporting Rosie once she had her autism diagnosis.

Over the pandemic, like many, Rosie also started experiencing mental health problems. Sadly, Rosie was bullied while at school and this continued during the pandemic.

Matty, a coach, at Liverpool Football Club (LFC) Foundation helped support her to get counselling with their wellbeing team. He also kindly offered to sit in on the sessions with her for additional support. This made a big difference to Rosie feeling more comfortable taking part.

Matty wanted to get Rosie involved in the LFC Foundation as much as possible. From there, Rosie joined a women’s football team and became a member of their youth panel. She is helping with football coaching during summer camps too.

Through the LFC foundation, Rosie became even more involved with youth social action. Her mum says her work with the youth panel and Scouts made her who she is now.

Now Rosie's always talking about fundraising and helping others. Recently, as part of the Youth Panel, she walked up a mountain in Wales to raise funds to support people in hidden poverty. This was used to make boxes full of useful items, such as toiletries or key household items. Inspired by the foundation and her work there, Rosie would now like to be a disability sports coach, too.

‘Being a part of the LFC Foundation and its Youth Panel has given me so much confidence and enthusiasm,’ Rosie smiled, ‘It’s encouraged me to accept the nomination to become an #iwill ambassador, where I'll be able to continue to work on even more social action projects.’

Becoming an #iwill ambassador

#iwill ambassadors are aged between ten and twenty-five years old. They come from all different types of backgrounds. And they all have one thing in common – a passion that drives them to help others.

This made it the perfect fit for community-minded Rosie, so she applied.

Brilliantly, Rosie was selected as one of 82 people to become an #iwill ambassador. Her work to help her local area really helped her to stand out.

With her mum, Rosie attended the induction weekend in September last year. She met up with more than 30 other young people for a weekend of fun. The weekends away with Cubs and Scouts had made such a difference to her confidence and Rosie shined.

The following month, Rosie attended an #iwill ambassador residential in Bournemouth, where she met the other ambassadors. She spent the weekend making new friends, learning new skills and taking part in activities in the great outdoors!

During #iwill week in November, Rosie presented at an assembly to Beavers, Cubs and Scouts. She spoke about youth social action and her hopes to inspire as many people as possible.

Rosie’s thriving

Since she’s been involved in Scouts and these projects, Rosie’s confidence has grown immensely. Her mental health has really improved. She’s excited to continue as an #iwill ambassador and what she can bring to her local community. 

In Scouts, Rosie’s now an Explorer and Young Leader at her local Scout group. She’s enjoying teaching Scouts all about youth social action.

In September 2022, after all her hard work, Rosie was nominated as ‘Champion of the Month’ by Rob Harper, the #iwill Social Action Co-ordinator and Youth Panel Leader at the LFC Foundation.

Rosie and Vicky’s advice

Like everyone, Rosie has faced hurdles, but she now has the confidence and determination to overcome the challenges she faces.

Rosie’s advice about autism is Scouts is an inclusive organisation and there’s lots of support, for both volunteers and young people.

Vicky and Rosie both agreed on three things that have allowed Rosie to thrive in Scouts. They are:

• patience
• communication with volunteers
• making reasonable adjustments 

Rosie’s always been reassured, and she knows she can go to her section volunteers with an issues or problems. She’s never looked back.