My New Job – By Ellie Brown

My name is Ellie and I joined the #iDare team to help me build me confidence, and I even took the role of assistant editor because it’s really helped me.

I’m about to turn 18 and its made me want to start earning my own money, so I applied for a job…and I got it!

The job is with an organisation called ARC, which is the Autism Resource Centre in Swindon, which helps young people with severe Autism develop independent life skills.

In my job I do things like helping them:

-Prepare and cook dinner in the centre.

-Make crafts and things they can use in their day to day lives.

-Develop personal care skills like dressing themselves and staying clean.

-Talk and learn conversation skills.

It’s a bit weird because I’m only 17 myself, and many of them are the same age as me or even older, but I enjoy it because I feel like I’m helping people. I also think its helped my ability to do my job by being part of the project because we have worked as a team and had some people who have had autism, so I have learnt how to best work with people with different needs.

I don’t know what I want to do for a job in the longer term, but this has really helped me take that next step to build my confidence, and I don’t know that I would have done it if I hadn’t joined the #iDare team.

My new job is challenging, but I do enjoy it....and its GREAT that I’m actually getting paid for it! 😊