Mr. Craig Kelly:

Without the supports of Ability@Work, I would not be where I am today nor have a job. I applied for jobs previously on my own and got nowhere, but I got there with the support of Ability@Work. Before all this came about, I felt powerless but now, having been elected president of the ability board, I feel as though I have power. I am supporting not just myself but many other people just like me, with intellectual or other disabilities. It is so important for someone with a disability to have his or her own voice. As I said earlier, we are often treated like children and decisions are made for us, instead of us being asked what we would like to do and how we would like to go about it. With Ability@Work, we teach a lot more than we are taught. The people involved learn from us and always ask us what we want to do, what courses we are interested in and what we foresee as our career for the rest of our lives, and they try to set up that.

I reiterate that without Ability@Work, I would not be where I am today. I am happy with how I am doing. I now have a job and I am not discriminated against there. I had an interview and was treated like any other person, and I am thankful for that.