Real life stories
An inclusive workplace
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Shiu-Ming Man tells us about the challenges he faced both at school and his early career as a person with learning disabilities, before landing a role at Choice Support.
School life
Shiu-Ming was treated differently from other students in school because of his disability. He wanted to join the football team, but teachers feared that he would get hurt. He was escorted around the school grounds, which led to him being singled-out and bullied by other students. Shiu-Ming felt he was being ‘labelled’ by the school.
College was “better in a sense” as Shiu-Ming was granted more independence. He was no longer escorted everywhere, which allowed him to make more friends, and he finally made it onto the football team.
After college, Shiu-Ming volunteered for several organisations that support people with ‘challenging behaviour.’ This started his journey into the working world, and led to him being elected, in 2013, for the Youth Council he had been volunteering for. Shiu-Ming appeared on BBC Radio 1 during this time and received an award for his work by the local mayor.
First rejection
Shiu-Ming continued searching for work while volunteering but came up against the same discrimination that prevented him from playing for his school football team. In a group interview with six other people, Shiu-Ming was the only person denied the job on the grounds that he could get injured. He tried to explain the reasonable adjustments the company could provide to remove these concerns but was ignored.
Shiu-Ming knows when his disability is the reason he is being rejected and feels employers “get away with this discrimination too easily.”
Choice Support
In Late 2021, Shiu-Ming applied to work for Choice Support as a self-advocate in the Our Rights Group and was offered an interview in January. “It didn’t feel like an interview,” he said, “it was more like a chat about getting to know each other.”
Shortly after accepting the position, he was offered another paid opportunity at Choice Support to deliver the Oliver McGowan Learning Disabilities and Autism Training as an Expert with Lived Experience. Shiu-Ming said: “I was born to deliver this training.”
Shiu-Ming is happy his skills and contributions are recognised in the work that he does now.
“What I need to say to people with learning disabilities and autistic people or different disabilities, is keep on fighting for what you want to do. Don’t let someone else say you will never accomplish this.”
