Psychology field trip to a mental hospital???

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My psychology class is going to visit a state mental hospital and throw a party for some of it's members. We are going to provide food, gifts and entertainment. I am quite excited about this, but there is one serious problem with the situation, and that is as I have no experience with that type of social situation, I have zero idea of what I should do while there. We are strongly encouraged to talk to and interact with the patients, and honestly I would really like to participate in this. However, I don't have anything in my social skills tool kit for this sort of situation, and I am quite nervous.

Any ideas?

Don't worry about it. There will likely be a lot of people with poor or an unusual set of social skills, and then there will likely be others who will initiate a conversation with you and do most of the talking. In a mental hospital, the standard for normal can get somewhat...relative...at times, so they won't judge you harshly.

I would talk to the person who's organizing the trip about what to expect and the protocols on your visit. Once you know the guidelines, just be yourself while following the protocol. You might find it a rewarding and enjoyable experience.
I know AS is not a mental illness but I personally feel a kinship to those with mental illness (schizophrenia, alzheimers, etc) because I feel that they are also misunderstood and mistreated in similar to the ways we are. I also find the interactions with them a lot more open and honest than dealing with the mind games that socialites often play with us.

I actually lived in a mental hospital myself. The group I lived in had ten people, it was a group for normal functioning (is this the right term? I mean normal function when it comes to IQ) teens with schizophrenia/psychosis and all autistic spectrum diagnoses, who couldn't handle the real world at that moment.

I don't know what kind of mental problems the people there have, so I can't give that much advice. Most people, even those with a mental problem, want to be treated like real, normal people. They may be a bit shy in the first instance, strangers don't get let in at those places a lot.