I had a few preconceived ideas about working with adults with a disability. I thought that the work would be consistently hard and more physically demanding, but it’s not. Sometimes people with disabilities display challenging behaviour but with training and the support of other staff our problems are usually solved.

At the beginning of my employment as a casual at Skills Options Kurrajong Waratah, I was required to work with a new client. It was her first week at Skills and also my first week as a casual. I had to encourage her to do some sewing onto a piece of felt. As this client was new we were trying to find out what her interests were and what she really liked to do. I think on that day I used every means possible to encourage her to sew but she just didn't want to!

I went home that night wondering if I had the skills to work with people with disabilities. I remember feeling very inadequate and wondering whether this was the job for me. I thought I'd at least continue the casual employment for about 2 weeks or so and then maybe try something else.

After talking to other staff members and my manager I picked up on some skills and a different way to approach it. It's wonderful to have the support behind you. When there's a problem, it's easily sorted out. The great thing is that we are all individuals with the same goal in mind - to work with our clients to help them develop artistic abilities and social skills, and also to do volunteer work.

I'm so glad that I stayed and persisted with what I thought were my inadequacies. It's taken me about 20 years to find this job and I just love it!