Fieldtrips are a great way to learn, meet new people, work as a team, learn about yourself, and explore new places. However, it comes with a vast variety of challenges which can negatively affect people and their fieldwork experience.
Field trips are a great way to learn, meet new people, work as a team, learn about yourself, and explore new places. However, it comes with a vast variety of challenges which can negatively affect people and their fieldwork experience. Although COVID-19 took away most of my fieldwork opportunities, I found the ones we could do challenging due to being neurodiverse.
Ensuring fieldwork is as accessible as possible is one of my priorities this year. To raise awareness of the struggles students and staff face with fieldwork, I’m starting with this blog. I hope that it will help people feel more comfortable speaking up about their experiences and difficulties with fieldwork because I wasn’t brave enough to.
Reasons different people may find fieldwork difficult
There may be many reasons why a student or staff member may find fieldwork particularly difficult. Most people, I feel, think of physical disabilities when they think of the terms ‘accessibility’ and ‘disabled’, wheelchair or cane users, blind, or deaf, however, there are a vast range of other difficulties we should also consider.
Physical impairments: physical impairments and mobility issues can impact someone in a variety of ways. Their condition may make it difficult to travel long distances, traverse over certain terrains, navigate their surroundings (due to a hearing or visual impairment), carry heavy or lots of items, or stand for long periods of time and they may require mobility aids (e.g., cane, crutches, wheelchair, a seat). It is also important to know that physical impairments can be mentally exhausting for people, not just physically exhausting, so they may need more breaks than others.
Anxiety: a person may feel anxiety about a variety of things in relation to fieldwork, including but not limited to: the idea of being away from home and their friends, not knowing people on their course, the change from their normal day-to-day activities to a field day, traveling, having their needs met and respected, social anxiety and working with new people, or what the destination will be like. These anxieties could prevent someone from enjoying or even attending the fieldwork altogether, which will impact their studies.
Neurodiverse: there are a lot of neurodiverse conditions which may prevent someone from enjoying and attending fieldwork. Some examples of neurodiverse conditions include ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, or Tourette Syndrome. Those with autism, for instance, may struggle with the change in their usual routine, the food provided if they’re on a residential trip, socialising for long periods of time, overstimulation and sensory overloads, or the uncertainties related to where they’re going. A person with dyslexia may find it difficult to process workbook instructions or need their workbook paper to be a different colour and become embarrassed because they work slower. Someone with Tourette Syndrome may decide to skip fieldwork if they don’t feel comfortable ticcing in front of everyone. These are just some reasons which may cause a student or staff member to become too overwhelmed to attend or enjoy fieldwork.
Airport accessibility: airports can be a huge challenge to deal with and navigate. For some, just the anxiety and fear of being on a plane could stop them from going on a trip abroad for their studies. Other difficulties people may face at an airport may include becoming overstimulated by all of the people, queues, noises, lights, etc; those with tics being afraid of coming across as inappropriate (e.g., shouting bomb or twitching and blinking excessively and appearing as though they are not sober) which could lead to a difficult situation with airport staff, especially if there is a language barrier; people who are transgender and anxieties around toilets, passports and IDs, being scanned, or taking their hormone medication on the plane; those with physical access needs may worry that their needs may not be met appropriately at the airport or on the plane; and some people may be worried about feeling homesick.
Gender identity: some fieldwork attendees may be transgender or gender non-conforming which can cause a variety of worries. A very common worry for transgender people is public toilets. If a person’s fieldtrip is abroad where there is a language barrier, they may feel anxious about using public bathrooms because it could be difficult to explain themselves. Others may worry how they will be perceived by people on their course, if they will be respected and addressed correctly, or what members of the public will think of them.
These are only some reasons why a student or member of staff may find fieldwork challenging.
My experiences
At the end of my second year, we had a fieldwork module that consisted of a few days of fieldwork around Aberystwyth. I have Tourette Syndrome and each fieldwork day was several hours long. Back then, I wasn’t comfortable ticcing in front of people, especially people on my course who I didn’t know very well. Suppressing tics is very uncomfortable and can cause tic attacks (prolonged periods of continuous, non-suppressible tics which can last minutes to several hours). Because I was at this point in my self-acceptance journey, I decided not to attend the fieldwork days and do them online. The online versions were great and I was able to complete the module, however I wish I had been comfortable enough to voice my concerns.
I also struggle a lot with general and social anxiety, change and changes in routine, and not knowing the exact details of things (leading me to research and find I am likely to be on the autism spectrum), meaning a fieldtrip can cause me a lot of worry. I’d always worry about whether there would be enough breaks, whether I’d be able to keep up or not, where the toilets were located if there were any, when lunch was and if there was anywhere to buy food, would I have to work with other people and people I don’t know, what happens if I get overstimulated and have a sensory overload, the list goes on. To feel comfortable enough to attend fieldwork, I’d have to mentally prepare well in advance. Once there, being around so many people, socialising, masking (intentionally altering your behaviours to conform to social norms and appear ‘normal’ to those around you) and dealing with the change in my usual routine was often tiring and sometimes overstimulating.
Being dyslexic, too, I found reading and processing workbooks tricky. I felt like I was always behind everyone else and asking lots of questions because I found it difficult to process the workbook instructions. I could have asked someone to read the information to me, but I felt embarrassed.
I hope that by sharing my experiences, you will feel more comfortable telling friends, people on your course, and staff about your access needs. Asking for more details about your fieldtrip, asking a work partner to read workbook instructions to you, informing a lecturer of your access needs, is absolutely okay. However, it is also okay if you’ve not reached that point in your journey yet like I hadn’t.
Who to go to for help
There are lots of resources that can help someone feel more confident attending fieldwork. If you’re a student, filling out the medical questionnaire is a great start. Here, you can inform staff of any conditions you have and how they impact you. If you feel comfortable, you can contact your tutor/supervisor/the staff attending the fieldwork to give them more details and discuss solutions or alternatives to any challenges you may be facing. Student Services can also offer support. However, if you’re not comfortable talking about it, I have found that wearing badges or a Hidden Disabilities sunflower lanyard (https://hiddendisabilitiesstore.com/) have increased my confidence and allowed me to inform others without having to explain verbally.
It is also important to look out for your student and staff peers. If someone asks you for help, do what you can. If someone is struggling, it’s okay to ask if they need a hand. However, if they don’t want help that’s okay.