Something special - making a difference!
Making a difference, we hear this phrase a lot in today’s society.
This statement certainly rings true for the Lynch family.
Our son John is now 25 years old and has Aspergers, which is a form of Autism.
John attends the Something Special Group in Eglinton two days per week and joining the group has certainly made a difference to both John’s life and my own.
As most parents of an Autistic child or adult knows, life presents you with many challenges.
As the only boy among five girls, John has had a lot of support through his life and as a family we have been blessed.
He went to Belmont House School at 4 years of age and had an amazing learning experience in a very supportive environment.
His education continued with the North West Regional College where he achieved various qualifications and life learning. This enabled him to enter the workplace where he worked in various retail outlets. Everything was going smoothly and John was happy making a useful contribution to society. Unfortunately life can throw a spanner in the works.
Due to Government cuts, John was no longer able to work through the supported employment scheme.
Two years on, I am still waiting for this particular scheme to re-open. This left John isolated at home as there were no schemes or programmes suitable for him. Unfortunately in the last two years I have suffered from ill heath which has limited my ability to get John out and about.
Then we heard about The Something Special Group in Eglinton. The group was set up by Denise White to provide support for adults with disabilities and focused on music, art and drama. This was ideal for John as he is a talented artist and loves music.
John really enjoys going to the group and his social life has improved immensely. He has travelled to Dublin for a weekend, taken part in a play and made a film with Something Special. This year he has helped paint a cow for Derry City’s International Cow Parade, which he named MOOGLINTON and given talks on the work of the group to various schools and community groups.
He has been actively campaigning for Something Special by putting leaflets through doors and standing outside supermarkets for long hours getting people to vote for the project in the National Lottery’s Good Causes Awards.
One of John’s ambitions is to become a mentor for others with special needs. John has a very caring nature and is always ready to help anyone within the group experiencing difficulties. Thankfully life for us as a family is improving but we couldn’t have done it without the support of Something Special. So “YES, SOME THINGS REALLY DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE”.
Please vote for Achieving Something Special and help make a difference to someone’s life.
Mary Lynch.
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Weather for Derry
Wednesday 19 June 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 10 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 12 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: South
