Sean's Story A Lesson In Life Update Part 2

As promised, here's the rest of the update on Sean. After graduation, Sean got a job as a greeter at Walmart where he worked for almost 2 years. He made many, many friends there and was able to greet many people from our local community that he knew. With the change in management and management styles, Sean's employment there ended. What a shame as Walmart lost a very dedicated conscientious employee.

Sean has since found a small part time job working at the Wild Bird Center, located at 12234 Tullamore Rd in Timonium MD. Sean's responsibilities there are to stock the bird seed when it is delivered early Wednesday morning. He has to off load it from the pallets, negotiate his way through the store and restock, and store the excess in the rear stockroom. Sean's boss John Sala has been a wonderful and supportive employer. Sean looks forward to going every Wednesday, getting up and being prepared well ahead of the time that morning. The Wild Bird Center sells not only bird seed but every kind of bird feeder that you can imagine. One of my favorites is the one that gives a squirrel a merry-go-round ride when it tries to steal some seed.




Sean has made a very special friend at The Wild Bird Center....Ms. Hattie....she, Sean and Ian are in the top picture. Sean adores Hattie and this is a big step for him as Sean dislikes most dogs due to a frightening experience he had when he was younger. Hattie is the most gentle of souls and loves to be rubbed and give kisses.





Sean works with a supportive employement agency to find a full time job and to give him support as needed. We were able to find a agency that shared our views of inclusiveness. In addition to looking for a job, Sean has been able to volunteer at various agencies to gain some valuable "work skills" as well as to give back to the community. At Thanksgiving time, Sean worked in a soup kitchen alongside his community employment advocate to serve the homeless a hot meal.




He also volunteered at the American Cancer Society local chapter helping with their envelope fund raising campaign. As for what the future holds for Sean...my hope if that his future is limitless. I hope that society gives Sean and all people with disabilities a chance. I know that I will work til my last breath to make sure that happens.

Statistics suggest that every family will be touched by someone with some kind of disability or challenge. We as a society need to look at how we treat each other. We wouldn't want our loved ones treated unfairly, now would we? So the next time you see the little down syndrome child playing on the playground, encourage your child to befriend them. Hold the door open for that person in a wheelchair not out of just courtesy but out of respect for that person or better yet, why not engage in an exchange of "hello", betcha they will give back to you more than you will ever realize.