The gap that #JunX10n fills

This post has been written anonymously by one of our #JunX10n trainees. Visit our #JunX10n page to find out more about this service.

#JunX10n is an important part of my life. It fills a gap that I found myself trapped on. That gap is the space between support for Low Functioning people with Autism and High Functioning people with Autism. I found that I couldn’t get help to find a job because I didn’t have the skills needed. But there wasn’t support to learn those skills.

High School was stressful and upsetting for both me and my parents. I was happy for it to be over. But now I was left without anywhere to go next. When I was younger I had always known that after you finished High School you went to university and then got a job. It was clear that I wouldn’t be able to do that.

The next few years of my life were spent the same way, trying things, and then failing. My parents were looking for some way for me to progress somewhere, but there just wasn’t any guidance or help. Somewhere my name got put on a list and my Mum got a phone call from #JunX10n.

Something we did early on in #JunX10n was sit down with my parents and plan out what I wanted and how to get there. Having a plan after years of not knowing where to go next was relieving. I didn’t believe that my dream was achievable for me. It was where I wanted my life to go but I couldn’t see myself capable of getting there.

But I had the support that I needed now. So I started to do things I couldn’t have done alone. Slowly I made progress and achieved the things I wanted.

What I think #JunX10n has shown is that there are a lot of people out there with the potential to achieve what they want. But they lack the support they need.

I have made progress towards achieving what I want in life. It now seems possible.