When I'm not sitting glued to my laptop at home, I am a support worker for a charity named Scottish Autism, who support individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs), and help them develop their independence and teach them any skills they need to maintain that, as well as promoting awareness of and education about ASDs in the wider community. My role specifically is as a support worker within our Housing Support division, supporting adults with Autism in their own tenancies and helping them may their way through the world.
I only started working for the charity 9 months ago, but I absolutely love my job. I can honestly say I work hard at what I do, and even though sometimes I am totally shattered when I come home, I still feel good about it. It can be difficult at times though. All people who are on the Autism spectrum are completely different, which means their talents and skills, alongside their needs and anxieties, are all unique to them. This can make it hard to predict how a person might react to certain circumstances and surroundings, and as a result, I have borne the brunt of my service users' anxieties. And that's tough. But I still love my job. Because the people I support, like everyone else, have off-days: days where they feel tired and don't want to do much, or don't want to go out because it's raining, and I know I always do my best to help. So chin goes up, and then time to move on.
My job is the main reason why I don't post on my blog as often as I'd like. I work shifts so I'm often in work at unsociable hours, leaving me mentally and physically tired, so sometimes the last thing I want to do is talk about lippies. Although when I do want to blog, HOLD ME BACK! :P Today, the thing I really want to post about is something rather awesome I am doing at the weekend.
On Sunday (After a birthday meal on Friday and a Wedding on Saturday, all at opposite ends of Scotland I may add), I am going to abseil down the side of the 165ft tall Forth Rail Bridge. Here is a picture to give you an idea...
So yeah...pretty fucking big bridge. And I'll be doing it in aid of Scottish Autism. So far, I've raised £641 and I am so amazed and thankful that I've been able to raise that much, thanks to the generosity and support of my wonderful friends and family.
A lot of people have asked me why am I doing such a crazy stunt, i.e. why not do something simpler and less death-defying? Simple answer is that I just decided to do it on a whim. Not to fundraise, but to abseil. I received an email in work looking for volunteers to abseil, and a few hours of hand-wringing later, I was in! The long answer is this: after I decided to leave my previous job (I was a probation-year English teacher for all of 3 months), I was desperately applying for any job I could find, and all that came in return were no-thank-yous or no replies at all. I even had someone telling me in a completely un-ironic tone that I was too qualified. HOW THE FUCK!
It was a real low point in my life and career, but Scottish Autism came along and put their faith in me and my abilities when I needed it most. My job has given me a career, confidence and happiness, things that I didn't even think were possible when I first applied. My main reason for doing the abseil, then, is a thank you to Scottish Autism for giving me a chance to excel and a chance to prove myself and gain some confidence once again.
With that in mind, I have a serious question to ask of you all. Would you consider sponsoring me? Even £1 would make me super happy, because every penny goes towards helping people with ASDs have a chance to excel, to learn and to become independent in society. If you want to see the kind of work Scottish Autism does, go to www.scottishautism.org and look at all the amazing projects and centres they run to support people with autism, their families and carers. If you have a look and like what you see, then go to http://www.justgiving.com/Christina-May and sponsor me.
And here's a picture of me in my funky fundraising tee!
Thank you for reading folks. It means a lot!
Christina xo
No comments:
Post a Comment