Lewis is currently on roll at a local school in Wiltshire and is in Year 11. MacIntyre began working with Lewis in November 2017 on a one day community programme. Lewis has social and emotional disabilities, resulting in him struggling to build and maintain suitable relationships with his peers. He also struggles to communicate his wants and desires to unfamiliar people. Whilst working with MacIntyre, Lewis thrives with one to one adult support. He always listens well to instructions and has always participated well in various activities.
Lewis would like to attend Wiltshire College in September, but is unsure which course to attend. He likes cars, but also enjoys visiting coffee shops. He initially participated in a week’s work experience at a local garage back in November. Although he enjoyed this, he felt that he would like to participate in work experience at a cafe. After approaching various coffee shops, one café called Buttylicious, agreed to offer Lewis some experience every Wednesday morning, which began at the end of February.
As expected, Lewis was initially shy, nervous and apprehensive on his first morning at Buttylicious. Although this was evident during his first morning, he did listen well to instructions and followed them to the best of his abilities, following health and safety and hygiene procedures. After this first session, we conducted a tutorial to discuss how he was feeling. Lewis explained that he enjoyed it and felt that the work was simple enough to complete. He explained that he wanted to continue with this type of work.
Lewis continues to participate in work experience at Buttylicious. He became confident enough to ask further questions in order to clarify what to do next, and after a further few weeks, he learnt the procedures at the cafe and tends to just complete his work without having to ask. He has become far more confident with communicating with the two ladies that work there, often discussing what he has done at the weekend or joining in with conversations about current affairs.
Lewis’s work ethics have gown over the weeks. He seeks to complete tasks to a good standard and within a desired timeframe. Both ladies at the cafe are extremely pleased with his contribution and are happy for Lewis to continue working there until the summer. This has been a huge step in Lewis’s development, showing that he can gain confidence around others and develop good employability skills.
Shaun Gosney
Programme Co-ordinator, No Limits Wiltshire
