1. My story so far

2. MY STORY SO FAR Because I have Aspergers Syndrome which is a mild form of autism, when I was at school I had trouble with social situations and school work. After school I went to Wheelsby Hall which is a college for school leavers with learning disability's

3. My Story so far They taught me work and social skills and independent living skills I found it difficult to hold down jobs because I found it difficult to get use to new situations. I was on benefits for seventeen years

4. My story so far Then I found Piccadilly Gardens who helped me to organize myself and interact with other people in a work setting. It also helped with my social life out side of work eg the pub etc

5. My story so far Through Piccadilly Gardens I found out about a learning together group and through this I found out about REACT which is a self advocacy group. A vacancy in REACT came up which I applied for and was successful.

6. HOW I FOUND THE JOB Through React I found out about the Quality Company which is linked with theThera Trust. Its about inspecting the quality of support of services that deal with people with learning disabilities.

7. HOW I FOUND THE JOB Also through React I got involved with the North West Self Advocacy Regional Forum which is about feeding back issues to local and central government which people with learning disabilities think are important.

8. My story so far Through my work with the Regional Forum I got voted on to the National Forum which is about feeding back issues from all over the country to government. (I am no longer on this because I have done my maximum time.) Through this I became chair of the regional steering group which is about organizing the Regional Forum and it’s conference.

9. My story so far Through this I heard about a vacancy as a conference organizer working for Pathways Associates which I was successful at getting. Yes my dream came true! I am finally earning enough to come off benefits.

10. MY JOB AS A CONFERENCE ORGANIZER I work 25 hrs a week organizing conferences for self advocates and any one who works with people with learning disabilities. We check out places beforehand and organize the room on the day such as welcoming people, setting out tables and chairs sorting out equipment.

11. MY CONCERNS ABOUT COMING OFF BENEFITS Might be worse off if anything goes wrong I will be back on benefits at new rate which is lower

12. WHAT DID MY FAMILLY THINK ABOUT THINK ABOUT IT They had the same concerns as me to start off with, but in the end found out I would be better off than I thought because I am entitled to working tax credit. Income Support gave me one hundred pounds to come off benefits because they want to encourage you to find work.

13. HOW IT FEELS TO COME OFF BENEFITS It feels great that most of the money I receive I am earning it also feels great that when I do overtime I can accept the cash without declaring it to benefits people also people treat you with more respect

14. Contact me mark.shackleton@pathw aysassociates.co.uk Office 01254 790220 Mobile 07969 070291