LEICESTERSHIRE AUTISM OUTREACH SERVICE Autism Outreach Teacher Compiled by Lorraine Biddle Autism Outreach Service Specialist Teaching Services Room 600, Rutland Building County Hall Glenfield Leicestershire LE3 8RA Service Manager: George Thomas Telephone: 0116 305 9400
e-mail: sts@leics.gov.uk Educational visits are an integral and valuable part of a student s experience and are known to enhance the learning opportunities for all children, irrespective of age, need or ability. However, for many students on the autism spectrum these visits can be a source of anxiety and require careful planning. It is important to make clear, as the Disability Discrimination Act dictates, that any educational visit should be fully accessible for any student in the group eligible to go. If through associated difficulties a student on the autism spectrum is unable to choose a particular trip, or is unable to access it in the same way as other students, it is recommended that the visit does not take place. It is perfectly reasonable for a school to be expected to provide additional support for an individual throughout any educational visit, in order to make access possible. Students on the autism spectrum experience difficulties, to varying degrees, in three key areas: communication, social interaction and flexibility of thinking. In addition, many students have sensory processing difficulties and high levels of anxiety. If we consider all of the above, the anticipation of a school trip can often lead to many weeks or months of high anxiety which in turn may affect behaviour, both at home and at school. This leaflet aims to support staff when planning a visit, whether it be a day excursion or residential. It has been written with real life experiences of students and schools in mind to anticipate pitfalls and ensure that all involved are confident and have a successful time. It is important to note that many students with ASD enjoy and benefit from such visits but in order to make the entire experience valuable and enjoyable for everyone there are many things to consider.
BEFORE THE VISIT The following Points should be Considered:- It is good practice to identify all the risks associated with a trip prior to introducing the idea to the children and their parents. Templates and sample risk assessments can be found here:- http://website/index/education/communityactivities/outdoorlearn/olcriskas sessments.htm Many centres will already have generic risk assessments for the activities that they offer. Children and young people on the autism spectrum may present additional risks, which should be considered in the light of the overall plan. The journey, the accommodation and the nature of any support required should all receive consideration and be discussed with parents. Keep a note of any meetings so that any points can be used to inform the risk assessment. Ensure that invitations and messages from school about the trip do actually reach home and provide clear information about the venue, costs and deadlines for payment of a deposit. This may seems obvious, but children on the autism spectrum are notorious for losing letters and other information from school or not bringing it to the attention of their parents! Make sure any instructions before the trip are written down and are clear. For residential trips a kit list is helpful but be explicit. For example, it may not be enough to say wet weather clothes and assume that the student will know or understand what that means. Being prescriptive may also alleviate any rigidity and potential points of contention when packing at home. Parents will probably thank you the more prescriptive you can be! Depending on the age and ability of the student, making a pre-visit booklet or social script would be a good idea. For a day trip this could include some photos or pictures from a website or leaflet and an outline of the day itself. For a residential it would need to be more specific and detailed. You may want to ask the venue to send photos of the key areas, including the dining room, bathrooms and dormitories so that the student can build up an idea of what the place looks like. Many centres now have websites and these sometimes include a virtual tour which the student could look at a few times before the trip itself. The weekly timetable will need to be explicit, preferably in a visual format, and depending on the student there may need to be a daily timetable also. The student could contribute to putting together an information leaflet for the rest of the group this would give them the opportunity to find out answers to any worries or concerns that they might have. There will need to be good communication with all adults on the trip from the bus driver to the zoo keepers! With parental consent it may be necessary to
let staff and support workers know that the student is on the autism spectrum or that they have difficulties with social and emotional understanding. It would be good practice to send general information about the autism spectrum to any staff or adult coming into contact with that individual and asking any establishment or venue to brief their staff that there is a youngster with a diagnosis. This is for a variety of reasons but it will highlight to all that anxiety levels are likely to be increased for that individual and there may be elements to the visit that they may find hard to access or fully take part in. For a residential visit an older student may find it useful to put together a pupil passport which briefly outlines any strengths or specific difficulties that they might have. This could include a photograph and could then be shared with venue staff. Before the visit it would be valuable to contract or make explicit specific expectations including behaviour. It would be useful to establish an agreed exit strategy if the student is finding something too difficult. For example if they have particular sensory need and they find themselves in a situation that is just too difficult for them to cope with they are likely to feel less anxious knowing they can get out of a situation. This would be included in the risk assessment. There should be careful planning when looking at staffing. It may be very important to ensure that a student is supported by someone who knows of them and their diagnosis. If there are issues around the timing of trips and staff availability these should be considered before a visit is firmly booked. If an unfamiliar member of staff is going to be on the trip it is important to build in opportunities in the weeks before the trip for the youngster to get to know the staff member / members. This is true of both residential and day trips. DURING THE VISIT The following points should be considered: On the day of the visit, the student s anxiety levels are likely to be increased and the regular routines around school are likely to be different. Make sure the student knows what they will need to do on the morning of the visit. Go over this the day before and don t forget to state the obvious! For example if the students are used to changing footwear make sure the student with ASD knows that on that morning they don t have to! Have a visual outline of the day accessible to the individual student, breaking it into chunks of time appropriate to the needs of the individual. For a particularly anxious individual it may need to be First / Then and will need constant updating throughout the day. A student is likely to find it very difficult to verbalise their anxieties and even their needs it is not enough to ask if they are ok during the trip as
they may give you the answer that they believe you want to hear. Keep checking throughout the visit that they are ok by asking very specific questions e.g. Is that too noisy for you? or Would you prefer to keep your coat on for this activity? Many students on the autism spectrum find making choices difficult and may need support if there are choices to be made. It may be worth limiting the choices available but try to make sure there is something motivating enough for the student to want to choose! If not there could be some resistance and demand avoidance The journey for the visit will need consideration. It may be that a student will need to sit in a particular place on the bus with a particular person. This could be down to their lack of flexibility or their need for the security of routine. Allow some flexible planning and where appropriate discuss this with them first. On a residential it may be necessary to allow the student to sit in a particular place with a particular person. Contract expected behaviour on the bus beforehand, making clear any consequences. Be explicit for example by saying 'no food on the bus a student may not understand what you mean and throw their lunch away before they even get on! It is much clearer to say No eating on the bus. Be aware that there could well be increased anxiety around eating on a visit. Many of students on the autism spectrum like routine and may therefore be challenged by a change to their lunch time. They could perhaps find the demands of eating in an unfamiliar setting very difficult and they may experience sensory difficulties. Flexibility in the eating arrangements may be needed. On a residential visit or a visit where students will be eating in a cafe or restaurant try to access the menus before the trip itself. This will lessen the potential stress of having to make a decision about food and will take out the element of not knowing what to expect. If a student hasn t had the opportunity to look at a menu before a trip it could be necessary to liaise with parents about expectations around food. For example, should the choices be limited for the individual to reduce the anxiety? Toileting and hygiene may need consideration on a visit. For day trips the students may need to be reminded to go to the toilet at appropriate times as their ability to communicate could be reduced on that day. For residential visits there may need to be explicit timetabling around personal hygiene with a social script making expectations clear. Don t assume that they will know or be motivated! For example, X will have a shower every morning before he / she goes to breakfast. X will need to clean their teeth in the mornings before going out and in the evening after their supper. Whilst on the visit there may need to be some flexibility around expected work activities. Many students on the autism spectrum find it very difficult to filter unwanted or irrelevant details. It may be appropriate for a student
to record their visit through the use of a video or photographs, or a Dictaphone if listening to a guide or instructor. Where instructions are given they will need to be chunked and understanding checked Where activities are more open-ended there may need to be increased support to check that the student is maintaining their focus. The behaviour of other students can sometimes be a problem to a student on the autism spectrum. Sometimes the intentions of others are a mystery to them and poor behaviour of peers, a real concern. On residential visits be prepared for the student on the autism spectrum to become the dormitory policing officer. This could lead to increased social vulnerability if other students perceive their fun is being spoiled. There needs to be careful consideration given to students whom with are placed, grouped or partnered. It may be appropriate to prepare the student for the fact that there could be other school parties using the facilities at the same time. Reassurance and support may be needed especially if common areas are shared by other students from other schools. Peer support in this situation could be invaluable. FOLLOWING THE VISIT The following points should be considered: Once back at school it is worth noting that some students on the autism spectrum may find it difficult to recall aspects of the visit, or they may have a completely different perception of the experience. Some students on the autism spectrum may become resistant at having to continue with the themes of the visit once they perceive it to be over. This could lead to avoidance to complete expected work and again expectations will need to be explicit before the trip takes place. It may be necessary for the recording of any work to be flexible enough to engage a student on the autism spectrum, perhaps through a different media or the use of ICT.
Although there is much to consider when planning an educational visit, many students on the autism spectrum really do benefit from the experience. It can unlock the potential to learn new skills, and provide invaluable social opportunities. With careful planning and flexibility during the visit itself the experience is likely to be a lot of fun! Enjoy! For further advice or to discuss aspects of this leaflet further please contact The Leicestershire Autism Outreach Service Room 600, Rutland Building County Hall Glenfield Leicestershire LE3 8RA Telephone 0116 305 9400 Email: sts@leics.gov.uk