Gold Duke of Edinburgh: Absolutely Terrified

Hey. I'm an autistic teenager who also has OCD and ADHD. I recently did my practice expedition, and it was one of the worst experiences of my life. My entire group left me out, and I spent every night sobbing and having really negative thoughts. Because of this, my parents went to the school and reported everything. The students involved have been spoken to, but ever since I have had this crippling anxiety about the real expedition. It will last 5 days and 4 nights. I'm genuinely terrified and I'm crying while writing this. Any advice?

Hi,
I'm autistic, is anyone that you feel comfortable doing it with going on the expedition it might help to know that you have one person that you would be able to trust
Also, are they not offering any reasonable adjustments as they should make it accessible for disabled students
When you did your bronze and silver, what helped you then to do it? Are there any methods that you could use to help this time
Really sorry this happened to you

Heyy i wanna say that I just finished my gold dofe expedition and it was such an amazing experience!

I too absolutely hated the practice and cried every night. My whole group would walk in front of me and not wait for me and it was all just so terrible. All of this led me to absolutely dread my real thing. However, I just finished it and it was amazing! Ofc it was super difficult, but it was such a fun experience for me overall .

Tips:
- enjoy the views
this is such an important one because it makes everything so much nicer i promise. I went to the Lake District and the views were absolutely stunning. They really made climbing a massive mountain worth it.

- pack light
On my practice i had a massive bag that did not fit me and was filled with loads of food i did not even touch. Learn from your past mistakes and pack only the essentials.

- check the weather

- take food you actually like and enjoy eating
personally, i didnt like the idea of eating dehyrated food from a bag so i took things like pasta and rice. Desert in the evenings also helps if you have the room.

- hot chocolate every night is delicious and might help your team bond together.

- snacks snacks snacks
in my expedition i was always chomping on somthing bc i needed the energy

- invest in a good sleeping bag/ mat
a good night's sleep is crucial during dofe

- shower every night
trust me - your muscles will thank you for it

remember that this is only a couple of days, and even if those days are the worst days of your life you can still say that you got your gold dofe and you will never have to do anything like this ever again.

I'm also going to the Lake District! On my practise I also packed light (which made quite a few team members mad that I "had it easier"). I'm also bringing much more snacks, cause last time I only had energy tablets (a big mistake, I know). My uncle and aunt are big hikers, so I'll be borrowing their sleeping bag!

Unfortunately, we won't be allowed showers, which is dumb. I'm thinking of alternatives to make my muscles feel better at the end of the day, though.

Since you went to the same place as me, do you have anh tips for the Lake District? I'm also thinking of bringing walking sticks, and I want to know how the weather was. Tysm!