#29 Daniel's story

Daniel was 19 when we met him; he wasn’t working or in education.

He’s on the autism spectrum, had anxiety, found new situations difficult, struggled to make friends, had low confidence and couldn’t articulate how he felt. His hand writing was also poor and this affected his self-esteem too. 

He initially joined our Princes Trust Team programme; a 12-week course to improve confidence and develop English and maths ability. It included a residential at Brathay Hall in the Lake District where he developed communication skills, team building and confidence and challenged himself with outdoor activities; he gained so much from taking part that we could see the difference in him.

I wouldn’t be working if it wasn’t for the help and support I’ve had from Brathay. Thank you!

Daniel

Once he’d completed Princes Trust Team he still needed our support and so he joined our Talent Match programme which supports young people who need extra help towards employment. We worked with him on a 1:1 basis and he also attended group sessions. Something which held Daniel back was his handwriting and so we worked with Daniel each week to address this; he would practice writing letters and words and changed the way he held the pen which made a big difference.

His confidence also improved enough for him to become a Talent Match Ambassador which involves liaising with participants about the programme and discussing ways to improve it.

Eventually Daniel started applying for jobs; he got a few rejections but this didn’t knock his confidence, in fact it seemed to make him more determined.  Finally, he got an interview at a retail warehouse.  He was very nervous beforehand and his Brathay keyworker went with him to support him. He was disappointed with how the interview went but just attending was a big achievement for him

A few days later Daniel found out he had the job and was delighted.  He’s been working for almost a year now, loves his job and is going from strength to strength.