Ordinary Stories in an Extraordinary World

not ready for the companies outside, as long as the individual is ready to work, we can try to give them a job at either Pathlight or Eden. It can be anything they want and are able to do,’ she said with spirit. ‘If they can wash windows, I could set them to wash as many windows in our facilities as they liked. That would be their job. If they know how to man food stalls, they could work in our cafeteria. Even if it was something simple like sifting flour or preparing ingredients for cooking, we would employ them to do that with proper pay. As long as the person is trained and willing to work, they make the choices and the possibilities are endless. That is what we believe.’

Denise then brought us to meet with twenty-four-year-old Amin Junri.

‘He has the most amazing work ethics,’ she beamed. ‘He’s a wonderful worker, and honest and focused. He would be there in the cafeteria during school holidays, working away even when no one else was around. I was watching over him once from behind the steering wheel of my car; I was sneaking as I had not wanted him to catch me looking out for him. He is an extremely hard worker.’

When we met Amin, he was working in the school kitchen. His colleague was not in that day, so he was covering duties by doing the washing.

Denise showed us the task card that he carried with him.

‘They all have one,’ she explained. ‘It’s meant to help with their structure, and routine. They know what to do and when.’

She introduced us to the tall young man, and we said hello.

‘And what do you normally do, Amin?’ Denise prompted.

‘I work at the stall,’ he replied proudly.

‘And what do you do there? Can you flip pancakes?’ she asked.

‘I can flip pancakes, and I prepare food, and I man the stall,’ Amin smiled.

“That’s very good, isn’t it?’ said Denise. ‘Do you like working here?’

‘Yes,’ he said, with a huge grin.

After that brief meeting, we shook hands and thanked him and took our leave.

I recall that look of absolute pride on Amin’s face. He was proud of his job, and proud to be working. He loved his working environment and regarded his work and workplace with joy. I do not think he has blue Mondays. One wonders how many regular working people can claim the same.

The 7th Step

We spoke too about Eden School. It is a special school, but more. It caters to youths up to eighteen years old and aims to be a vocational school of choice for those with autism for whom mainstream curriculum is not suitable. It is a place where special children and youths are taught not only job skills but about daily living, people and life itself.

‘Do you know the story of the Garden of Eden?’ asked Denise.

‘Yes, yes I do,’ said I.

‘That is what we wanted our centre to be – a Garden of Eden for the students and trainees,’ she said.

Paula, who runs the Eden Centre for Adults, a day activity centre for individuals with autism older than eighteen years, mentioned that both the Centre for Adults and Eden School are now close to full enrolment capacity. I think they are trying to make it grow as fast and as well as they can, but there are challenges to be addressed; the main one is insufficient trained manpower to operate these services.

‘Eden could hardly exist without Pathlight,’ Paula said. ‘Denise set the stage for Eden to be built when Pathlight was established. Now we share resources, and adopt models and frameworks that work in Pathlight itself, for Eden.’

Denise was very emphatic about what is still needed.

‘It is about scaling, duplicating the service models so more can benefit. And we need more people with rigour,’ she said. ‘We need people who do not set low expectations, and who recognise the urgency to fulfill them. Without a sense of urgency, things get overlooked and are forgotten about. That’s why so many are still left without services.’

Denise also encourages educators and principals, anyone who is important enough to make a decision, to be open to the idea of mainstreaming children who are ready. They are all citizens of this country, like any of us regular people and deserve to be treated as such.

I daresay Jan, for instance, is as patriotic as the next person. He is very fond of our transportation system, and has probably seen more of the country than many of his regular peers.

The day we have Pathlight- and Eden-like schools and adult centres spread cross-country will be the day that Denise’s dream, and the dream of so many others, comes true.

I do not know about other games of chess, but this one is far from over. It has only begun.

Lanterns of hope are lit. Many more will yet be.

Jan

If folks were to ask my family what Jan is doing now, it would be a very bland sort of answer. One would think, or hope, for a happy ending to this story. If I were writing fiction, I might say Jan has turned the tables against the odds and gone on to become a world famous composer in Europe, and people gather from all over the world to hear his latest works. I could also tell of how he has become a renowned painter who travels the world, and paints fantastic scenes and people that he comes across, and sells his paintings for millions of dollars. He might also be a prodigal chef whose fantastic culinary inventions are sought by royalty. But I am not writing fiction.

This book does not have a real ending. Ours is a story that rolls on, as do the stories of many others. Jan remains at home with us. We aim to make him happy, and the family bobs up and down like a ship on the seas. We can never tell what will happen next, but one does hope for the