I have a granddaughter who has ataxia, a form of cerebral palsy. She has a weakness in her hands, her tongue muscle and in the muscles of one leg. This means she cannot run, her fingers will not grasp smaller objects and her speech is sometimes hard to understand. She is fifteen and pretty, with a ready smile. Because of her disability, she has slipped through the cracks at school and does not possess much academic knowledge. She is a great reader however, and yearns to be like the other kids. At her age, they are all looking for after school jobs. Some of her peers have landed places at fast food outlets, to the envy of the others! But now we are thrilled that her local supermarket, in Brisbane, has given her a job, on contract for ten hours a week, for a probationary period of six months. She is so happy to be feeling so useful. Her parents are happy and grateful to the manager for giving her a chance to feel competent. She has been packing groceries into bags and even scanning; doing quite well but needing help with weighty objects. The rest of the staff are most encouraging and helpful to her, a change indeed from some other areas where she has not experienced inclusiveness, and has even been shunned. The kindness that has been extended to her has restored her parents’ faith in human nature.I have a granddaughter who has ataxia, a form of cerebral palsy. She has a weakness in her hands, her tongue muscle and in the muscles of one leg. This means she cannot run, her fingers will not grasp smaller objects and her speech is sometimes hard to understand. She is fifteen and pretty, with a ready smile. Because of her disability, she has slipped through the cracks at school and does not possess much academic knowledge. She is a great reader however, and yearns to be like the other kids. At her age, they are all looking for after school jobs. Some of her peers have landed places at fast food outlets, to the envy of the others! But now we are thrilled that her local supermarket, in Brisbane, has given her a job, on contract for ten hours a week, for a probationary period of six months. She is so happy to be feeling so useful. Her parents are happy and grateful to the manager for giving her a chance to feel competent. She has been packing groceries into bags and even scanning; doing quite well but needing help with weighty objects. The rest of the staff are most encouraging and helpful to her, a change indeed from some other areas where she has not experienced inclusiveness, and has even been shunned. The kindness that has been extended to her has restored her parents’ faith in human nature.