Paula Konedaris only started speaking at the age of five.

At this age, the autistic girl from Tennant Creek joined the Girl Scouts in her hometown in the Northern Territory and felt a desire to socialize with other members of the group.

“I learned to speak,” said Paula.

At twelve years old, she can hardly wait to meet her “very special” friends after school.

“Best decision I ever made”

Paula’s mother Jennifer Konedaris said her youngest daughter’s development was “absolutely amazing.”

“Paula couldn’t speak until she was five years old, so when she was old enough for guide dogs, we sent her to guide dog school to encourage her to speak,” she said.

“All the leaders were very supportive. They all knew that she was autistic before the start, and all the other girls in the group actually encouraged Paula to give her speech.

“It was probably the best decision I ever made.”

Ms Konedaris said Paula’s occupational therapist and speech therapist have been impressed with the development of her communication skills since joining the Girl Scouts.

Social connection

Speech therapist and Autism Spectrum Australia practice manager Marlene Eksteen said many children with autism had speech delays or difficulties.

“Some of these (children) definitely reach their language development milestones later, but may actually develop fluent language later,” she said.

Ms Eksteen said structured groups could help autistic children in social situations and that social contact gave children the opportunity to practice skills such as negotiation, collaboration and problem-solving.

“Structured groups like the Girl Scouts often provide an opportunity for people with autism to be better prepared for what’s coming, what will happen next and what the consequences will be. This reduces the stress for them in that environment,” she said.

“I would always encourage autistic children to meet peers who share their interests, so working with your child to identify their interests and strengths and then supporting them to meet other children who like similar things or are good at the same things is a great way to help them make those social connections.”

According to Girl Guides Australia, the organization creates a space where girls can learn about themselves and their place in their community and the world.

The Tennant Creek Girl Guides seek to “give girls a voice”, and while in Paula’s case this was meant literally, group leader Kirsteen Squires said that more broadly it was about encouraging girls and young women to be confident, assertive and to feel empowered in society.

“The girls are just amazing. You see them blossoming here and developing their voices, and that’s what we’re all about,” she said.

Against the trend

Across Australia, participation in Girl Scouts has been steadily declining.

For example, the Girl Guides NSW had almost 34,000 members in 1976, but by 2016 the number had fallen to 7,537.

Letitia Baldwin, regional leader of the Girl Scouts in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory, said this reflected the general trend in participation across the country.

“There has been a national decline in our membership and even an international decline in Girl Scout membership,” she said.

There are currently about 16,000 Girl Scout members in Australia, but five years ago in 2019 there were 23,000.

Ms Baldwin said Girl Scout membership numbers had declined for a number of reasons, including a lack of awareness of the organisation, changing attitudes, young people’s greater access to different extracurricular activities and, more recently, the increased cost of living and Covid-19.

But she said in the outback of Tennant Creek, more than 800 kilometres southeast of Darwin, the Girl Scout group is bucking that trend.

“In the territory, we were so lucky and didn’t have the (COVID-19) lockdowns that other states had, we were able to maintain the status quo, so that was good.”

District manager Shelagh Walsh said the group currently has more than 30 participants, with several more on a waiting list.

“This is the second year we’ve actually had a waiting list,” she said.

Ms. Walsh attributes the popularity of the guides to positive word of mouth and the planning of innovative activities by her leadership team.

What do Girl Scouts do?

Girl Scouts complete a series of tasks and challenges to gradually earn badges for their achievements.

Leadership activities are led by girls and can include a range of activities from fundraising and community involvement to hiking, navigating and camping.

Recently, the Girl Scouts of Tennant Creek learned how to build and fly drones.

Ms Konedaris said in a small town like Tennant Creek, the Girl Scouts were popular because there were not many other options for young people.

“There are really only sports-related things,” she said.

“And if you have kids who actually want to do something else, like fly drones or do banking or raise funds or learn how to build campfires, you can’t do that unless you get something like (instructions).”

Kamryn Piper, 15, of Tennant Creek, said she enjoyed being a Girl Scout because she was able to spend time with friends and meet new people.

“I really like the activities we can do and we have a say in what we can do,” she said.

“Sometimes other people look down on girls and it’s good for the girls to be heard.”

“A powerful vision”

Despite the declining number of participants nationwide, the Scout movement is still relevant, according to Ms. Baldwin.

“We have a very strong vision and mission to give girls and young women the opportunity to discover themselves and become leaders in their own world,” she said.

“In today’s environment and world, this is an extremely powerful vision.”

Mrs. Konedaris encourages other communities to start their own Girl Scout group.

“It’s definitely something these kids will use every day of their lives,” she said.