Sean Henry
Sean Henry was born in Warrnambool Victoria on the 12th of May1990. His parents Liz and Norm already had Cameron who was nearly 3. He was a healthy baby with no signs of any problems.
Sean’s language problems were identified when he was 3 years old. He was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome in Kinder. Because of his difficulty with language and communication he completed 2 years at kinder
He had Integration Aides all through primary and secondary school. At school he was always polite, well mannered, self disciplined and hard working. Academically he struggled with some aspects of the curriculum but excelled at others like spelling and work that required a good memory. The things he finds the most difficult are problem solving because he lacks an understanding of words. This causes difficulty with conversation, double meanings, jokes, body language sarcasm etc.
In 1999 Sean attended the first Fildes Language Camp in Warrnambool. He gained a great deal of confidence from the camp socially and academically. He gained not only knowledge but a noticeable change in his self esteem. Since the camp he has been proud of who he is and has an understanding that everyone in the world is an individual and equally as important as each other.
In secondary school his teachers and aides were always amazed by his manners, mature attitude, compassion for other people (especially the other students with disabilities) and his positive outlook. Socially though, life was much more difficult when there was no supervision and he had to manage the jungle of the school grounds. He found it difficult to understand why others failed to treat everyone with respect and decency.
His interests include his play station, cars, music, animals, comedy and DVD’s. Since he was small he has liked fast rides and has recently discovered the roller coasters and water rides on the Gold Coast.
In February of 2007 Sean was studying year 10 and did a week of work experience with a company distributing food to restaurants, schools, hotels, etc. and realized he would be much happier if he could leave school and be integrated into the workforce. To his credit he finished the semester and left school in July of 2007 with the blessing of his parents, teachers, aides and class mates who all supported his decision.
Sean has worked at a Distribution Company packing orders and assisting deliveries since he left school. He works independently, his workmates are very supportive of him and he comes home from work happy and stress free every day and enjoys his job very much. He no longer requires a Case Worker or any support from Disability Services.
Sean is involved in a local car club and travels long distances from home independently to attend car club events. He has a sense of achievement and pride in his place in the community.
