Learning differently through field trips

A note was stapled to a page of my son’s agenda. Was it a letter from his special ed teacher? My heart sank. The week had started out so well! What had Laurent done this time? I read the note with bated breath:

Your child has . . .

Done what, I thought.

. . . a field trip to the McCord Museum of Canadian History.

Oh, what a relief!
It was just a school field trip. I exhaled slowly. It wasn’t the end of the world. In fact, it was good news!

I’m very happy that Laurent has these opportunities to experience Montreal’s thriving cultural scene.
When I was his age, I attended a private high school in Montreal’s North Shore that didn’t organize many cultural field trips.

Just this fall, Laurent went on four! He visited the McCord Museum of Canadian History, the McGill University Redpath Museum, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, and the Stewart Museum on Île Sainte-Hélène. What’s more, his class attended several of UQAM’s afternoon science workshops, which cover a range of topics.

These fun outings not only stimulate Laurent’s intellectual awareness and curiosity, but also teach him valuable social skills. Without even realizing it, Laurent and his special needs classmates learn about public transit, how to pay for their own travel fares and snacks, and how to put safety rules into practice (e.g., when crossing the street).

They’re building their social awareness.
For my son’s educators and teachers, that’s really what field trips are about. A person with autism has to learn the norms of social behaviour. Laurent knows how to act at home, with us. But with strangers? That’s a whole other story. Without us to guide him, he needs to be much more self-reliant.

Yes, I’ll admit it—being a mother or father hen can hinder your child’s autonomy.

Laurent is learning so much through his outings. Here are just some of the skills he’s put into practice:

• Looking both ways before crossing the street.
• Not putting your feet on the seat when you’re in the metro or on a bus.
• Listening closely when Michèle Deslauriers announces each metro station.
• Trying not to keep repeating each station name because it may annoy other passengers (a typical autism behaviour).
• Watching where you step to make sure you don’t trip and hurt yourself.
• Keeping count of your dollars and cents, because you never know when you might need cash.
• Not cutting in front of others when you’re waiting in line.
• Learning how to live in society is part of Laurent’s education.

During field trips, Laurent is also on a quest for knowledge. And that’s more than okay!
He’s captivated by every piece of artwork and artifact and delighted by every detail offered by the tour guide. It’s all part of what makes field trips such a wonderful way to learn.

Afterwards, when we pick him up at the bus stop, he immediately launches into a “detailed” description of the trip, without any prompting from us. I say “detailed” because, as a general rule, Laurent only shares the bare minimum of information. Some of his favourite phrases are “Yes,” “No,” “I don’t know,” and “Why did Captain Haddock spit out his whisky in Tintin and the Picaros?”

But after a field trip, he describes all his favourite parts. Some highlights have been the big dinosaur skeleton at the Redpath Museum, the Expo 67 uniforms at the McCord Museum, and spotting the Biosphere on a visit to Île Sainte-Hélène.

Does your child’s school organize many field trips?