“Most people that meet Trevor just think that he’s really shy,” his mom Stacy Guglielmotti told me. “He doesn’t always make eye contact. They don’t necessarily know he’s autistic, but they know he’s different.”
April is Autism Acceptance month and the hashtag #CelebrateDifferences is being used on social media to share stories about creating a kinder, more accepting world for a condition that the World Health Organization estimates affects 1 in 100 children.
Trevor was diagnosed with autism at three years old. His parents, grandparents, and two older siblings worked hard to advocate for and encourage him to ensure he got the care and support he needed at home and school. There were tough days when he’d melt down and get removed from his Kindergarten class because he was overstimulated and acting out. When his mom signed him up for Boy Scouts when he was seven, she thought it would just be one more thing to help broaden his world or maybe make a few friends. She never expected it would change his life.
This May 21, the day before his 18th birthday, Trevor Semmers will earn the rank of Eagle Scout, an achievement only four percent of Boy Scouts have earned since the organization’s start in 1911. To reach this goal, a scout must earn at least 21 merit badges. Trevor has achieved 31.
He’s called a “Lone Scout” – continuing to be part of West Garden Grove Troop 1103 he belonged to back in California, the same group he’s been with since he was 8. Several other kids in his troop had special needs and his troop leaders worked hard to encourage and mentor the boys to accept and learn from each other’s differences. Trevor even created a Disability Awareness booth for a local expo to highlight ways kids with special needs could benefit from being involved in Boy Scouts.
He presented his Eagle Scout project idea to District 1 Supervisor Harry Oberg to get permission to catalog and photograph all 712 graves at the Citizens Cemetery in Prescott. He and another Scout friend, Conner, spent their own money to buy supplies to gently clean 300 of the stones to make them more readable. The final piece of the project involved uploading names and photos of each grave to a website called BillionGraves.com which provides GPS coordinates and searchable data for people looking for their ancestors. Oberg has asked Trevor to be part of the Memorial Day celebration at the cemetery this year to recognize him for his hard work.
He is interested in genealogy and during the project was surprised to find the grave of someone born in 1799 in the Citizens Cemetery. The project not only taught him more about the history of Prescott, it made him feel more connected to the town he moved to three years ago. “He used to talk about moving back to California,” his mom said. Now he’s feeling more at home in Prescott. She thinks he recognizes that small-town living is better for him and that in Prescott, “there are people who will embrace you just the way you are.”
His 31 badges have also taught him to explore and learn about things that interest him or are important life skills. He enjoyed earning his welding badge so much that he took classes at Mountain Institute JTED and will be graduating with a welding certificate on May 8.
Beyond the friends he’s made and the badges he’s earned, “if it hadn’t been for Boy Scouts, he wouldn’t be where he is today,” Guglielmotti said. It’s given him the confidence to tackle problems and figure out how to achieve his goals, like opening a bank account, learning how to drive, and getting the job he’s held at a local McDonald’s for the last 11 months.
This June he’s going to be an adult leader at a Boy Scout camp in California, a chance to do what he loves while giving back to other kids who are coming up through the scouting ranks. And in that group of campers, there will probably be a few kids on the autism spectrum who may not be able to make eye contact easily or seem a little shy until they know you better. They will get to spend time with a camp counselor who understands what it’s like to walk in their shoes and who celebrates their differences as well as what they have in common: a love of Scouting and the chance to do good things in this world.