‘I just want to feel the same as everyone else’ said woman with intellectual disability in search of job
“I want to feel grown up and independent. I want to feel the same as everyone else,” began the heartfelt outpouring of a young woman with an intellectual disability searching for a job.
Aisling Lynam, 25, from Swords, Co Dublin, sent a letter to several national papers last October, after years of doing up CVs, voluntary work experience, and struggling to find work.
In her letter, she described the effects of her struggle on her self-esteem and confidence, saying she felt unwanted and yearned for an opportunity to make a difference.
“I felt like nobody wanted me,” said Aisling. “There were no opportunities for me and I was very low. I wasn’t eating or even communicating with my family. Then my aunt said, ‘Why don’t you send out a letter to the papers?’”
Aisling’s letter was published in the Irish Examiner and spotted by a member of the human resources team at Woodie’s DIY. Aisling was offered a job in the Airside branch of the chain, and started in November.
“I was a bit nervous on my first day. I went in and met my manager and she was really nice. Then I did an induction day and one of my colleagues helped show me what to do,” said Aisling. Now her duties include pricing, shelf stocking, and helping customers. With the help of other staff, her confidence is growing daily.
“At the beginning, if a customer asked me for help I would just bring them straight to the customer service desk, and they said to me, ‘You’re well able, you can just help them find what they’re looking for yourself’, and now I am able to do that,” she said.
Aisling works from 12 midday until 4pm every weekday, and with her newfound financial independence is planning a summer holiday to the US. She penned another letter to thank the newspapers for printing her article and to ask that other large employers consider their position on employing people with intellectual disabilities.
“I feel very happy now and I get on with everyone at work. But I’d like other employers to know that there are other people in the same situation as me and they should be given a chance.”
Aisling’s floor manager in Woodies, Mark O’Carroll, described her as an asset to the team. “One of our social media team saw Aisling’s letter and then Hazel Dunne from our HR department arranged for Aisling to come in for a meeting,” said Mr O’Carroll.
“I feel that giving Aisling the chance to succeed by opening doors and just giving the opportunity is the least big business can do.
“I hope Aisling’s story sends out a positive message to other employers; it’s never wrong to do the right thing.”
Mr O’Carroll said Aisling was an asset to the store and very committed to doing her job well. “Aisling is like a ray of sunshine in the store,” he said.
“She brings so much to her work and she has huge capability. She’s a lovely girl and very dedicated to her job.”
Aisling’s mother, Carol Lynam, said that watching her daughter struggle after she completed her Applied Leaving Certificate was a source of huge heartbreak for her and her husband Liam: “We did up so many CVs, at one stage I remember sending out 37 in one go. We mentioned her intellectual disability in them and we asked for feedback; we didn’t get a single response.”
“We’d keep getting her back to the stage of encouraging her to go for it again and then watching her sink and sink and feeling powerless. She’d say that nobody wanted her because of her disability and that she was a loser,” said Mrs Lynam.
Adopted by the Lynams from Romania, where it’s likely her birth mother suffered maternal malnutrition due to the poverty inflicted by the brutal Ceausescu regime, Aisling was identified at 13 months as having global developmental delays.
Having struggled throughout her childhood with gigantism, vitamin B12 deficiencies, and other medical problems, Aisling’s path hasn’t been easy, said her mother.
“She’s an amazing young woman; she’s had operations, injections, and lots of health problems, and has always coped like an absolute trooper.
“It’s wonderful to see her come into her own.”
“She even loves wearing the uniform; she wears it with real pride because then everybody knows that she’s got a job.
“She’s planning things now, because she feels like she has a future.”
Mrs Lynam said that, like Aisling, she hopes more employers get the message that people in Aisling’s position have a valuable role to play as part of the work force.
“It’s great for your store and for your image because people see that you’re supporting the more vulnerable members of your local community,” she said.
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