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| Two of my students enjoying the Pathless Woods sensory-friendly art exhibit. |
I believe that teaching children how to act socially is equally
important, or even more important, than teaching the academics. This year I am fortunate enough to teach at
the school where my son attends. You can
read more about my decision here. This is not a school only for children with
special needs, but many children who don’t find success in public school find a
home at our school. I teach children
with learning disabilities, sensory processing differences, ADHD, autism, and the list goes on.
with learning disabilities, sensory processing differences, ADHD, autism, and the list goes on.
Last
week our class went on a field trip to the art museum. I love that our school takes field trips at
least once a month. Luckily I had a few
parent chaperones attending the trip with me, so I was able to split my class
into a group of girls and two groups of boys (yes, I have way more boys than
girls!). I decided to let the girls
venture off with their chaperone, and I kept the boys with two chaperone moms
and me. Taking a group of boys through
an art museum might seem like a daunting task, especially a group of active,
high-energy, sensory-seeking young men who love to sing in the bathrooms and
hear their voices echo down the hallways.
I knew it would be an adventure, to say the least.
What
follows are some tips for taking a child or a group of children on a field trip
or on any kind of outing in public.
These tips will work whether you are a home-schooling mom, a classroom
teacher like me, or just taking your kids out for a weekend adventure. We’ve used these same techniques with our
autistic son over the past few years, and they’ve allowed us to have successful
outings on cruise ships, Disney World, the theater house to see the musical
Wicked, and everywhere in between. Our
son loves eating out at restaurants and visiting our local science museum. The trick for us is to go frequently and to
have sensory tools on hand to help the trip to be a success.
Sensory-Friendly Tips for Field Trips and Outings
1)
Review
Expected/Unexpected behaviors prior to the field trip.
This
year my school has started using Michelle Garcia Winner's social thinking curriculum. Many of my students struggle with understanding how to think through social interactions, so we teach these skills explicitly. This is different than simply teaching social skills. One aspect of the social thinking curriculum is understanding the difference between expected and unexpected behaviors. Rather than talking about behaviors as good
or bad, we talk about expected and unexpected choices. This takes the value judgment out of the
situation while allowing us to review what would be socially expected in a
given situation (such as quiet voices inside a museum) and unexpected (touching
the art exhibits). We also talked about
appropriate noise levels for different aspects of the trip (the bus, the inside
museum part, the playground, etc). I
always start reviewing expectations a few days before the trip during our Morning Meeting, and on the day
of the trip we also talk about the schedule for the day, which is especially important for my children on the spectrum.
This lets them know what to expect and removes some of the anxiety from encountering a different structure to the day. I do remind them that we may have to
be flexible during the day as not everything will run exactly as we have
planned.
2)
Bring
sensory tools on the go.
It's important to consider what sensory tools will help a child to have a successful outing. We have a little boy in our class who used
to run away when it was time to get on the bus for a field trip.
We were told that last year he actually once hid UNDER the bus during a
field trip. I recognized that this was
an over-stimulated child, and wearing a pair of noise cancelling headsets on
the bus and on the field trip have worked wonders for him. Now he can enjoy the experience because it
isn’t “too much” for him. My son also
wears noise-cancelling headsets on the bus and to any live theater
performance. Each child will be
different, but if a child needs a chew necklace or a fidget tool in class, then
he or she might need the same tools out in public. Make sure you build in plenty of down-time
after the field trip too so the child can decompress after a very stimulating
day. We use calm lighting and relaxing music while we do quiet coloring or centers after we return to school.
3)
If
possible, do the most popular (aka busy) exhibits early in the day.
This helps you avoid the crowds and waiting
in lines. We always use this trick when
we visit Disney or any of the other major theme parks We plan our day ahead and always try to get
at our destination as close to when they open as possible. This is when the crowds are lightest. We stay for a few hours and tend to leave
mid-day, just as the crowds are arriving.
On the day my class visited the art museum,
we decided to visit the mansion first where the art donors had lived, since it was
available by tour only. I spoke to my students about the plan while we waited for the museum to open its doors, and as
soon as we were released to go, I walked at a brisk pace through the museum
grounds (which the boys loved), and we made it to the front of the line just as
they opened up for tours. This allowed
us the freedom to explore the rooms at our pace and then move on to other areas
of the grounds while other groups were still waiting their turn in line. Of course it’s not always possible to be the
first, but a little planning and prioritizing can go a long way.
4)
Don’t
be afraid to adapt and adjust plans as needed.
As I mentioned earlier, I chose to keep my most active and
sensory-seeking boys with me on our art museum trip. I knew that we would be exploring the museum
our own way. It was important to me that
the boys followed the rules of the art museum, but I also wanted to set
realistic expectations for them. I knew
that they wouldn’t be able to handle hours in a quiet art gallery surrounded by
adults who might not be as understanding
of their youthful energy.
So, even though we were scheduled to explore the quieter main
art building, I decided to give us twice as long exploring the circus museum
instead. When it was our turn to head to
the main art building, I chose to skip the Asian art room altogether (The dour
look on the art docent’s face outside the hall of pristine sculptures was
enough to convince me to steer my boys elsewhere. The boys started charging ahead through the rooms and I had a vision of priceless statues toppling to the ground, so I ushered them out quickly.) and I instead brought them to a sensory-friendly
exhibit called the Pathless Woods where they were wandered through a ribbon room. They loved running their hands through the
yards of ribbon hanging from the ceiling, listening to the music, and spreading
their arms wide as they walked as fast as they were allowed.
We also decided to take a long walk by the water of the lovely
bay that runs next to the museum and the boys looked for sea creatures and
rocks by the water’s edge. We wandered
through secret gardens and I let then run through open fields. In short, we enjoyed the museum our way. Luckily, the moms with me were both moms of
two of the sensory-loving boys in the group, and so they were on board every
step of the way.
5)
Use
real life teachable moments as they happen.
When unexpected behaviors occur (which is bound to happen), it’s
important to use the opportunity as a teachable moment.
At lunch, one of the kids said that “Nate” was running around
barefoot near the trees that were next to the picnic tables. Sure enough, I spotted Nate’s shoes on the
ground and Nate halfway up the tree. I
called Nate over and sat him down next to me on the bench. We talked about why running around barefoot
is unexpected. “But, I needed a good
grip to climb the trees.” We talked
about how that wasn’t safe to do in public.
He understood, put his shoes and socks back on (we had to have another
talk about why he needed to wear his socks too), and then I let him go. I could have yelled and lectured at him, but
instead I used the moment as a learning opportunity for him. Then, I released him back to play to see if he had learned what I taught him.
Had he taken his shoes off again, he would have had to sit out the rest
of the playground time and reflected on his choices.
6)
Remember- it’s about learning and having fun!
Our day turned out to be a lot of fun, but it could have
easily gone a different way if I had structured our trip differently. My boys had their moments of impulsivity
(such as when they finally broke free and ran towards the playground the moment
I released them, almost barreling over a couple of elderly visitors) but overall
they managed to follow the expectations because I set reasonable limits for
them. I like to think that one of the
reasons why we were able to enjoy the trip was because I found the balance
between setting boundaries to keep them safe while still allowing them the
freedom to be themselves. I try to do the same for my own son when we go
on adventures. I see so many parents at
theme parks dragging their child from one place to the next, trying to “do it all”
and trying to “get their money’s worth”.
All they succeed in doing is creating a tired, miserable,
over-stimulated child. I can’t tell you
how many meltdowns I’ve seen at Disney, which is supposed to be the happiest
place on Earth! Remember- it’s supposed
to be fun, and for the trip to be fun for them, we have to consider what works
for them. This will make the outing much
more enjoyable for everyone!
Good
luck and happy exploring!
Welcome to the Voices of Special Needs Blog Hop — a monthly gathering of posts from bloggers hosted by The Sensory Spectrum and The Jenny Evolution. Click on the links below to read stories from other bloggers about what it’s like to have child or student with special needs.
