Jerome 28 years old and has a learning related disability. At the time of the interview he was training to be a chef at a working restaurant called Strawberry Studio funded by Birmingham City Council.
Jerome wants to raise awareness about people who live with the label of learning difficulty and dispel some of the myths and stereotypes which too often become barriers that stop people from progressing in life.
Jerome was first given the label of learning difficulty when he was at primary school. Teachers noticed that Jerome was slower than most of his friends with things like writing, reading and maths. He was therefore transferred to a special school. Jerome looks back on this experience with some sense of sadness about losing his friends:
“The teachers said to my parents “Jerome can do things but he has a learning difficulty”. But what I don’t understand and can’t find out is why I couldn’t stay in mainstream school with just a bit more time for copying from a black board or more time doing maths, English,
science, etc.
My mom told me I may have to move school. From primary school I moved to a special school and then to special secondary school. Moving school I felt upset about leaving my friends who understood me. I am happy that I have kept many of my friends from primary
school”.
Even though Jerome acquired the label of having a learning difficulty and moved into a segregated education system at an early age, he has maintained friendships with many non-disabled childhood friends, some of whom have gone onto to university:
“Half of my friends are in university or doing high jobs that I couldn’t do. I never get jealous, I just ask questions about what it is like and always show an interest in their lives. My friends at university love that about me because I ask questions and I don’t let anyone knock me. I have known one close friend who is now at (university) for 17 years, some one else is training to be a professional tennis player and another friend is training in photography”.
Something that Jerome is keen to express is the great amount of difference that exists amongst people with learning difficulty. His recent experience in the training kitchen and restaurant at (training restaurant) backs up his view that the term learning difficulty is a huge umbrella that covers many different people from different backgrounds and with different abilities and skills. Jerome believes that other people are too quick to make assumptions about anyone with this label.
“First of all it’s a shame that people could have the same rights as other people but they are being judged because they have a learning disability and secondly I feel everyone with learning difficulty is put under the same umbrella. I mean, if you are working with someone
who has the same disability as me, they are not necessarily exactly the same. We can each be better in our own way.
"There are good qualities in everyone but employers don’t see this and just want to give you a job and let you just do that job until you get bored, when they should be encouraging you to learn new skills. I think employers are noticing someone with a learning disability and
thinking that they know nothing, they are not aware and they should be aware. I would like to write an article to tell people more about learning disability – aimed at employers and businesses to try and educate them”
Jerome believes that people with learning difficulty shouldn’t be treated differently unless it’s necessary. In other words, rather than refusing to employ someone, employers should try to come up with a solution so the person can do the job. He feels that he is achieving a lot personally but could do a lot more with support and encouragement. For instance he worked for four and a half years at a well-known fast food chain and was promoted to the position of
dining area host within 6 months but after that was never considered for further promotion such as manager training.
“I got promotion to dining area host, which basically means customer care, customer service and cleaning. But I wanted to go higher in the company but felt that they weren’t willing to delegate a manager or supervisor to have 1 to 1 sessions with me to go through it so I could
get promoted higher. It was a case of “if you don’t like it then get another job”.
"As soon as I finish my catering course I would like to go travelling to see more of the world and use my food skills as I travel, learning about other cultures and the way they cook, then maybe come back and say to my family I’ve found a place to try out. If I try and fail at least I’ve had a go”.
“Since I’ve been working at (training restaurant) I’ve been finding out more about people with learning difficulties. Maybe one day I could open a restaurant they could come to and get a good wage instead of being on benefits”.
Jerome has recently been sharing his knowledge and skills with young people at a special school in Birmingham. He feels that cooking and catering are good careers for disabled young people. Jerome also believes there’s more to catering than just working in the kitchen and restaurant areas, he is keen to do some marketing as well. Part of his job entails going around the offices on the site with a trolley and while doing this he promotes the restaurant to staff he meets:
“ At this place because of the trolley I can work in the offices, meeting customers: what’s your name? What do you like? Trying to get customers to recognise there is a restaurant here and you are welcome to have your food and sit in the restaurant. That’s what I like about catering – I like the customer care, cleaning, basically making sure everything is suited for everyone”.
So the next time you meet someone with a learning difficulty, don’t be too quick to put them under one umbrella, as Jerome says, everyone is completely different:
“Basically, people probably moan saying you shouldn’t put them in different categories, but people do need to realise we are all different, even people without a learning disability – we’re all different”.
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