Published on 12, July, 2020
I've got a field trip with my uni at the end of the month. I'm looking forward to the actual learning content and doing the field work, it's the peripherals that are causing concern.
The last field trip I did, I was not prepared for how hard I found some aspects of it, particularly eating (I thought I wasn't a picky eater, turns out I just make all my own food) and the being around people 24/7.
The eating thing I am going to deal with by taking lots of bars and some plain tortillas and then I can at least fuel myself for the bits I can't eat (which isn't too much, it's mostly lunch and some breakfasts). So there's somewhat of a plan and it should work out fine.
The being around people 24/7 is going to be made worse by the trip being longer, and the accommodation being dormitory style rather than the two people per room that was last time. Last time my room partner would go hang out with her friends and I could use the space to recharge a bit. I don't know how I'm going to manage to recharge, as from the info I'm given there's no obvious space I can go to be alone for a while, and also no time to. The really big issue is that being around people for a super long time and not getting a break when I'm getting overwhelmed leaves me super susceptible to meltdowns.
The last one was at a family gathering and ended up with me rocking and sobbing behind a pea bush saying 'there are people everywhere' over and over again. That was bad enough around my extended family with a mum who knows what the problem was and how to fix it (clear a room, forbid all outside access, and leave me there for the rest of the day). I have no idea what would happen if that happened on a field trip with uni leaders and other uni students. The uni leaders and one of the students I know are aware I'm autistic and might disappear periodically, but I have no idea where to go for it. And even if they theoretically know I'm autistic, you don't necessarily know what a meltdown is going to look like or what to do when one happens. But I also don't want to tell them before hand because A. I don't know them well enough, especially the staff. And B. if it then doesn't happen it looks like I'm making up stuff for attention.
So, anyone who has done uni field trip, how do you deal with this? Anyone in general, any ideas?
Hi,
I can relate to this- and I think you are courageous to go on the trip! I think it might be a good idea to talk to someone from university- do you have a mentor? What comes to my mind is that you need an ‘exit strategy ‘ - you need to be able to take a break and retreat somewhere if it all gets too overwhelming- you mention that there isn’t a space to do this- but maybe this could be arranged? Or you could take a short walk? It would be good if someone was aware so that you could just go and take a break if necessary- ideally you take a break before you get overwhelmed too much. I still struggle to recognise the signs but I’m getting better and I now sometimes leave the lab briefly to go out for a short walk during day when I notice that I get overwhelmed and stressed. I can relate to the challenges around food as well (brings back lots of memories of school trips and camps as a child where I essentially lived off snacks I brought). It sounds like you have a plan for the food- you could even ask if you can put some things in the fridge too if that helps. Will you be sharing a room? Is there anyone else going on the trip that you know well and can maybe confide in so they can watch out for you too? I don’t think people will think you are making things up for attention. I think reaching out to the university is a good idea- I’m at the same university for my PhD (and was there for Bachelor and masters) and so far they have been extremely supportive and understanding- there is a very high proportion of neurodiverse students and I suspect they have a lot of experience with helping out making field trips more manageable and accessible. the science will be really exciting! Hope it goes well!