Req 6 — Personal Commitment

This is where everything comes together. You have learned terminology, practiced etiquette, visited an agency, heard from people with disabilities, evaluated accessibility in your community, and taken action as an advocate. Now your counselor is asking two things: What has changed inside you? And what will you do about it going forward?

Reflecting on Your Journey

Before you draft your commitment, take some time to think honestly about how your awareness has shifted. Here are questions to sit with:

• What did you believe about disability before this badge that you no longer believe? Maybe you thought of disability as something tragic, or you assumed all disabilities are visible, or you had never questioned whether your school is truly accessible.

• What surprised you most? Was it a conversation you had? Something you learned about adaptive sports? The gap between what the ADA requires and what actually exists?

• What made you uncomfortable? Discomfort is a sign of growth. Maybe you realized you have used disrespectful language without knowing it, or that you have avoided interacting with people who have disabilities because you did not know what to say.

• Who taught you the most? Think about the person — at the agency, in your troop, in a conversation — whose perspective changed how you see the world.

Crafting Your Commitment

A meaningful commitment is specific, actionable, and sustainable. “I will be nicer to people with disabilities” is vague. A strong commitment identifies a concrete behavior you will adopt and how you will encourage others to do the same.

Commitment Ideas

Here are examples of specific, actionable commitments. Use these as inspiration, but write your own based on what you have actually learned and what matters to you.

Personal behavior commitments:

• “I will always use person-first language and gently correct others when I hear disrespectful language.”
• “I will never assume someone does not need an accessible parking spot or accommodation just because they look healthy.”
• “When I see someone with a disability, I will see the person first — and I will say hello instead of looking away.”

Active inclusion commitments:

• “I will advocate for accessibility improvements at my school by writing a letter to the principal with specific suggestions from my Req 4 audit.”
• “I will invite a friend with a disability to a troop campout and work with the Scoutmaster to ensure the event is accessible.”
• “I will continue volunteering with the organization from Req 5 at least once a month.”

Educating others:

• “I will share what I learned about invisible disabilities with my patrol and encourage them to be more understanding.”
• “When I hear a myth about disability, I will share the facts I learned in this badge.”
• “I will be the person in my friend group who speaks up when someone uses the word ‘retarded’ or makes jokes about disability.”

The Bigger Picture

Disability awareness is not a merit badge you earn and forget. The Scout Law says a Scout is kind, helpful, and friendly — and those values apply to every person you meet, including people whose abilities are different from yours. The world is full of barriers, and some of them are physical — stairs, narrow doorways, missing captions. But the biggest barriers are in people’s attitudes. Your commitment today is a step toward tearing those down.

You have made a meaningful commitment to carry your awareness forward. One more requirement to go — and it focuses on the professionals who dedicate their careers to serving people with disabilities.