Skills Adviser Parul Patel has seen first-hand the difference that Adviza’s employability programmes can make to individuals and how, for some, the challenges of group activities are too great, meaning they require especially sensitive one-to-one support.

Parul spent six months volunteering with The Prince’s Trust as a way to break into the careers sector. It was here that she got the opportunity to join the Aylesbury Prince’s Trust Team programme, delivered by Adviza. She soon began to support a group of young people who were not in education, employment or training and required especially sensitive coaching because they were neurodivergent or had severe anxiety.

This led to her joining BEEP, where she supported NEET individuals who were beyond the reach of many support programmes, helping them to find confidence, inspiration and work experience. As BEEP draws to a close and Parul moves onto our Multiply programme, she shares the stories of three young people who have worked hard to make a change to their circumstances. We begin with Millie...

Millie

Millie is eighteen years old and was diagnosed with Autism in 2019.  Millie was referred to BEEP from Bracknell Council at the start of the summer for being NEET (not in education, employment or training) since 2020 as she had been unable to manage the social and work pressure.  At the time of the referral she had very low confidence and found it difficult to communicate with, or trust, people.

Millie’s challenges had worsened during the pandemic.  She was in the higher set at secondary school and doing well academically, but during the pandemic she was put in a pod with students who were unkind to her. Her autism and depression became more severe, so her mum had to pull her out of school right before her GCSEs as she knew the school environment was not right for her.

This is a good example of how many of the people we can and must support are a stage removed from being able to engage with many employability programmes.

Millie’s mother reached out to the local council, which in turn referred her to BEEP and The Prince’s Trust Team. I was at Team when Millie arrived and I remember her walking into the room, unable to make eye contact with anyone and so frightened of an unknown situation where she was confronted with nine strangers in a room, that she didn’t last the first day. This is a good example of how many of the people we can and must support are a stage removed from being able to engage with many employability programmes. 

Even though Teams is a brilliant personal development programme and one that I know firsthand goes above and beyond to cater for each individual’s needs, Millie’s autism was too severe for her to be comfortable with group activities and the pace of socialisation.

My experience working with young people has shown me that neurodivergent people are definitely neglected in the UK, with care largely restricted to the very limited pastoral efforts in schools, or the overstretched mental health care facilities via one’s GP. Parents often struggle because they need a break or a breakthrough and they keep hitting brick walls. I really feel for them, and Millie’s mum was very keen for me to continue supporting Millie because we had a good rapport.

My goal was to establish a trust between us so we could understand each other more.

So when I transitioned to intensive support I started working with Millie; we met once a week for an hour and she liked it. My goal was to establish a trust between us so we could understand each other more. We did art and magazine collages, visited quiet spaces such as the library, explored meditation and sound bowl healing, all of which encouraged her to communicate with me more, and at her own pace. I couldn’t ask her something as direct as “What do you want to do?” because she would panic about why she didn’t know what she wanted. Through my initial sessions, I learned that Millie is deeply sad but very much determined to change this, which was very encouraging. 

Not being an expert in neurodivergent people, I started contacting my network of autism experts to get some advice on how I can help Millie. One of them is Nic Lander, who owns Kimel Community Café in Wokingham, which provides supported employment for the neurodivergent community. Nic exclusively employs autistic people in his café and is a huge advocate of supporting neurodivergent young people. He was a great help, and though he has a huge waiting list for work at his café and therefore couldn’t accommodate Millie there and then, he put me onto Poppies Farm, a working farm that provides holistic mental healing and wellbeing for neurodivergent children and young people, through farming and animal care.

It was fantastic to see her weekly progress: on the farm, she was visibly growing in confidence, becoming more comfortable with herself and other people.

Poppies co-owner Jo Robertson has seen the young people she works with make huge strides in confidence and happiness by interacting with animals. One of Millie’s many characteristics that I admire about her is willingness to try something new. So I took Millie to the farm and she immediately loved it. I accompanied her there every week, and her activities included combing horses’ hair, cleaning the rabbits’ enclosure and walking the goats. It was fantastic to see her weekly progress: on the farm, she was visibly growing in confidence, becoming more comfortable with herself and other people. Jo is an amazing person who dedicates herself fully to making a positive difference in these young people’s lives.

"This is the therapy I’ve been looking for".

By her third week at the farm, Millie was drinking tea in the barn and comfortably sitting with six of the team, a marked contrast to her earlier experiences of being surrounded by peers in her age group. One day when we were walking the goats, she told me “this is the therapy I’ve been looking for.” She could feel herself changing. She now spends two hours each week at the farm—without me—and it’s a triumph that she doesn’t need me there where once she would be nervous leaving my side. I’m not sure either of us thought it possible that she’d come so far, so quickly.

As Millie does need to continue getting support and my work with her has come to an end, I am currently helping her enrol in a personal development programme with Kimel Community Café.   This programme is designed specifically to help neurodivergent young people gain more confidence and eventually gain employment in a field of their choice.  Millie will be enrolling in this programme in February.  Another step closer to getting her to be more independent.  

Millie is just one example of how vulnerable people can suffer the most in a crisis—in this case the pandemic—and how the realities of their journey to a better place can be tough and beset by setbacks. Ten things can go wrong, but the one or two things that go right are the things that matter. Millie and her mum have been an inspiration to work with – their dedication, resilience and determination to improve Millie’s mental health and set her on the right path has been remarkable to witness. 

 

18th December 2023

 

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