It has now been almost a year since my first field season in graduate school, and I am so excited to be heading out again! Last summer, I wrote about all the things I wish I had packed, but leaving things behind wasn’t the only challenge, nor the greatest. As I reflect on last season and prepare for the coming season, I have been thinking a lot about how my disability affects/doesn’t affect my ability to do field work. Since starting my graduate program I have been wanting to write about being a disabled student, and I think field season is a great time to talk about the challenges and rewards that come with field work when you have a disability! To provide some background on my situation, I have had chronic lower back pain for the last seven years. Things like walking, sitting, standing, stairs, carrying weight, and other specific motions can cause anything from mild discomfort to severe, take-your-breath-away pain. While my body can still “do” all of these things, because of the pain they sometimes cause, I am considered to have a mobility disability. Over the years I have sought lots of different treatment options, and my relationship with my body has changed quite a lot. I am lucky to have found a great team of healthcare professionals who support me and help me, and it is largely because of them that I am able to do field work at all. My intent in writing is for others who have disabilities and perform field work to get some ideas on how to make it easier for them, and also to validate their struggles and successes. For those who do not have a disability, my intent is to provide a sketch of what one person’s disability looks like, and give you some food for thought so you that you can better support your colleagues who do have disabilities. For me, the hardest thing about having a disability is not the disability, but the interactions I have with others who misunderstand or make assumptions about me. I look “healthy” even when I am in pain. Therefore, I am also writing this with the intent to increase awareness about ecologists with disabilities. Not all of us hike, not all of us do field work, not all of us CAN do these things, and not all of us can do these things without doing a lot of behind-the-scenes work! That doesn’t make us any less of an ecologist! Don’t assume others are healthy. You never know what someone is dealing with. Take people seriously when they say they have a limitation. An important note before I get started is that I use the term disability here to describe a very wide range of limitations. Here I mean anything; physical, mental, or emotional, which causes an individual to have any sort of limitation or constraint on their ability to participate in life. I write this using my own experiences as a framework, and try to generalize them with the hope that they can be useful to everyone. Here are my tips for a successful field season with a disability: Before you head out into the field: Brainstorm with your healthcare team. I think it is a great idea to visit each of your healthcare providers a few months in advance of your field season to pick their brains on ways you can support yourself. This is especially important if you will have to go without helpful services, like therapy etc., for an extended period of time. For example, my physical therapist told me I could do a couple minutes of specific exercises right before and during hiking to prepare my muscles to work in the correct way, helping me reduce stress on my lower back and in turn decreasing my pain. With my GP, she was able to prescribe me an extra supply of my medication since I wouldn’t have access to a pharmacy for a long time. Consider registering your disability. On my campus, if you have a disability as a graduate student, you need to get in touch with two offices. In your capacity as a student, you work with the Disabled Students Program to get the accommodations you need. In your capacity as a teaching assistant, graduate student researcher, or any other “employee” role, you need to work with Human Resources. This is difficult and confusing! However, the support of these departments can sometimes make all the difference. Sometimes, working with these departments is incredibly hurtful and invalidating. If you haven’t yet, I suggest giving it a shot and seeing what you can get out of it. Figure out your limitations, hard and soft "no's". The best thing I ever learned from my physical therapist was, “If you are already in pain, it is too late”. My condition can cause a delayed-onset pain reaction to activities that seem totally benign. This is something I had never thought about, and empowered me to not push myself until I was in pain, and then stop. Instead, I take breaks and avoid certain activities altogether, even when I am at my 100%. I think this can apply in general, even to those who do not have disabilities. Try to learn where your limits are, and decide what are hard limits and soft limits. For me, bending over repeatedly is a hard no - I refuse to do tasks where this motion is required, and rely on my field assistant for help with these. On the other hand, carrying heavy weight is a soft no; I try to avoid doing it, but will if the team requires it. In this way, I can keep myself closer to my 100% as long as possible, and avoid dangerous situations where I might be in too much pain to get home. Always respect other’s “no’s”! Don’t force someone to do something if they say they cannot. This is why it is great to be in the field with a team - you can divide the work so that all tasks are completed without anyone being hurt or having troubles. Plan your work with your disability in mind. For me, this means avoiding long hikes, avoiding lots of bending over, not carrying lots of weight, and scheduling a lot of rest time. See if you can design your experiments with your limitations in mind. Figure out what you can avoid, and for those things you can’t, prepare in advance or find an assistant who can do them instead. I have chosen field sites that are accessible mostly by vehicle so that I can avoid hiking with heavy gear as much as possible. I also bring along an undergraduate assistant to help me with tasks that are difficult for me. If you can, talk to your field team about your limitations. I am very lucky in that I have always been in the field with a supportive team. In undergrad, even though I didn’t tell my lab mates about my disability, they noticed that I had a harder time getting around the field site. They would wait for me to catch up without making a scene and even offer a hand when I had to scramble over boulders. They didn’t need to know the details, they simply noticed I was struggling and provided quiet support. Importantly, however, if I ever refused help, they would take me at my word and not push me to accept. This was critical because it allowed me to have my own personal agency. They didn’t treat me like a child or like I didn’t know what was best for myself - they were simply there when I needed them. Now, in graduate school, I take an undergraduate assistant with me in the field. Before we head out, I have a meeting with them to discuss expectations. An important part of this meeting, for me, is to generally explain my disability and its limitations (my hard and soft “no’s”), and directly ask for their support in specifics. In this way, they can prepare themselves for times when I may not be able to help with a certain part of the work, or when I need to stop to take stretching breaks. Both years I have been very lucky to have a student who is understanding and supportive of my needs. Last year, a particular portion of the sampling protocol became painful for me and I had to ask my assistant to trade tasks with me. I felt quite guilty because I was doing the more difficult and boring of the tasks, but she was fine with everything and didn’t question me, complain, or baby me. I simply said “I can’t”, and she said “okay.” If you are working in the field with someone who has a disability, I think the best way to be supportive is to ask them in advance about their needs, so when the time comes you can help them effectively without stepping on their personal agency, and also ensure that all your work gets done safely. Aside from that, simply paying attention to the people you are working with is also helpful. Don’t leave people behind on hikes, notice when someone is struggling, and if you are able, offer help. Take people seriously when they say they are having a hard time or can’t do something, and don’t encourage someone to just “push through it.” Find a way to mitigate the issue with them, and be okay with it if that means turning around and going home. In the field: Stick to your plan... Stick to your hard and soft “no’s”. Do your best to let go of shame, pride, and guilt, and rely on your team for help when you need to. When I needed my undergraduate assistant to take over my sampling task for me, I felt so guilty. By not performing the rest of that task, however, I saved us time and effort and saved myself a lot of pain. If you are lucky enough to have a supportive team, saying no is always better and easier than saying yes and dealing with the consequences. ...but also have fun! Take calculated risks and be prepared for the consequences. Sometimes, if I am feeling really good, I like to push my limits a little and see what I can get away with. When I do, I always double down on my PT exercises, take some medication, and do other things to mitigate the effects so I can wake up the next morning and complete my work with ease. The field is a great place for me to test my boundaries. For me, pushing the limit can be thrilling and validating. I try to do it when the risk is low and the reward is high. Some of my happiest moments have been in the field when I am able to overcome my physical limitations. Whatever you choose, please do remember; testing your limits can make you feel brave and strong, but sticking to your plan is also brave and strong. Some of my other happiest moments are making the decision to not do something, and to not feel bad about it, and to not be in pain later. No data is worth your life - or your health. I think we can take the “No data is worth your life” saying a little further. I tell myself and my undergraduate assistant this repeatedly - no data is worth your health, safety, pain, or anything else negative. I make it clear that we can always take a day off, we can always come back to revisit the site later, we can always use statistical methods to deal with missing data. It is much harder to help someone who has hurt themselves. Make this a clear mantra for you and your team. Take care of yourself. I know how tempting it can be to slack on things that prevent my pain, especially when I am feeling good and am busy and exhausted from field work. Don’t do it! Stick to your schedule, take your medication, do whatever you need to do to keep yourself in tip-top shape, for your own safety and the safety of those around you. Your body is an important tool, so make sure to treat it like one. To be honest, I don’t exactly know what to do if your field team isn’t supportive or respectful of your limitations - I am lucky that I have no experience with this. My best advice would be to stick to your guns. Don’t be pressured into doing anything that you don’t want to do, even at the risk of being a “lazy princess”. I would also suggest, if you are able, to find at least one person who can come with your group who can support you and respect you in the way you need it. You can also consider reaching out to your disabled students program or human resources office, who can help mediate conversations between you and others in your team to ensure you get the respect and accommodations you have a right to. Do not allow yourself to be invalidated or put at risk at all costs. While I was writing this, I realized a lot of this advice is not restricted to those with disabilities. What I have outlined here, I think, are instead rules for self care, safety, and self-respect that anyone can use when in a challenging situation such as field work. We all have different limitations and abilities, and we all experience things differently. Be prepared for that, be accepting of that, and be accommodating of that, and you will succeed in being a good ally towards someone with disabilities, and also to yourself. Good luck to you on your next field season! |
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