UPDATE: J's Apprenticeship

[pearl]

If you've been waiting with baited breath for the next instalment....

 

 

He got shortlisted for interview today!!!!!!!

 

Friday, April 13th but he's not superstitious

 

We're hoping fantastic Dave his ESW can accompany him

 

So lots of interview skills practice for next 2 weeks, stuff like:

 

give an example of teamwork you have taken part in:

how would you deal with a difficult customer:

oh, & take your hand out of your pants, it dont look good

[Kathryn]

Brilliant news, what a boost to his confidence to get this far. Well done J!

 

I expect you'll be even more nervous than he is on the day, I know I would be.

 

Let us know how it goes

 

K x

[ellisisamazing]

If you've been waiting with baited breath for the next instalment....

 

 

He got shortlisted for interview today!!!!!!!

 

Friday, April 13th but he's not superstitious

 

We're hoping fantastic Dave his ESW can accompany him

 

So lots of interview skills practice for next 2 weeks, stuff like:

 

give an example of teamwork you have taken part in:

how would you deal with a difficult customer:

oh, & take your hand out of your pants, it dont look good

 

Yayyyy! Woooooo!

 

Pearl, That's brilliant!

 

LOL @ the pants bit!

 

April 13th? Not a problem......My Birthday!! I was also born on Friday the 13th!!!!!!!!!!!!!............kinda explains a lot!

 

Lots of Good Luck to JP! He's my inspiration!

 

Catch up with you later

[pearl]

Thankyou Kathryn & Lisa,

wow Lis, your birthday, shall we take this as a sign that the Apprenticeship Angel is on the case?

Will pm you later when I've a bit more time xxxx

[Bagpuss]

That's great news Pearl

[pearl]

Just had a call from Dave to say he's got clearance to go with J to his interview!

What a pair of stars he & his line manager Ian are, they dont have to do any of this but are pulling out all the stops for J,

I just dont have words to describe how grateful I am. Its people like this that have helped him all through his life & it seems to be paying dividends just now

[annie]

Great news .

 

Annie

xx

[David Matthew Baker]

Thats great. Go boy!

[peppa]

Fantastic!!!! after all the good work you've both put in you desrve it!

[pearl]

Thanks guys, I feel like half the country is cheering him on! Wish I'd found this place years ago. Will keep you posted.

[pearl]

OK he got his interview letter this morning, would you belieeeeeve it he has to pass yet another test on the day

Its either half an hour or an hour, cant tell as theyve screwed the times up on the letter, & tests his problem solving ability & IT knowledge.

 

So I now have to start all over, ringing the contact & asking for adjustments dont know if its written, computer based or anything.

 

It would be a shame for him to fall at the final fence for want of a bit of preparation though.

 

It does bother me the job is so customer focussed, he'll be answering IT queries at a helpdesk etc. I think he'd be more suited to going round just fixing stuff like that techie in The Office. Still it might improve his social skills.

 

I've had achy arms all week & keep thinking I'm having a heart attack

 

I'm sure I'd feel iller though, or be dead or something.

 

J is coping just fine

[butterfingersbimbo]

oo pearl i really think you should go to your gp and get theat aching in your arms checked out.....

 

i really hope that j does ok with his interview, and test that they are springing on him....sending loads of positive vibes!!! <'>

[pearl]

Thanks bfb, I will get it checked if it doesnt go away - probably just posting too much on here

Thanks also for the positive vibes, its lovely on here, feels like the entire autistic community is cheering J on

[rainbow queen]

<'> <'> <'> <'>

[Clare63]

Ah Bless you Pearl, you are probably feeling the strain of all this and your poor old blood pressure is up, please do get a check up soon. Sending loads of positive vibes for the next test.

Try and chill a bit this weekend.

Clare x <'> <'> <'>

[David Matthew Baker]

I hope this next test goes as well as his last one. At least it should be very clear to them how enthusiastic he is about this position. I'm sure when he needs to talk to others he will do so. Probably in a very logical and methodical way that will help a lot when people are trying to locate and fix problems with PCs. Wishing you both the best of luck, David.

 

P.S. The more I read on this forum the more I think my bro would be on the spectrum. He is doing a maths degree at the moment. Hates any change whilst it is coming but often enjoys things when he gets somewhere and gets used to it. Only talks when absolutally neccessary. Having a conversation can be like (metaphorically) getting blood from a stone. He has only ever had a small number of friends. They tended to be very close as well and often stood out in someway themselves. Presently trying to get my bro to apply for positions for when he finishes his maths degree. Is hard work though. He seems to like mathematical modelling. He did a year in industry at Northumbrian Water that he enjoyed. So guess fluid dynamics is the sort of area he has shown most interest in. Sorry getting way off topic again.

[elun1]

Lovely news

[pearl]

I hope this next test goes as well as his last one. At least it should be very clear to them how enthusiastic he is about this position. I'm sure when he needs to talk to others he will do so. Probably in a very logical and methodical way that will help a lot when people are trying to locate and fix problems with PCs. Wishing you both the best of luck, David.

 

P.S. The more I read on this forum the more I think my bro would be on the spectrum. He is doing a maths degree at the moment. Hates any change whilst it is coming but often enjoys things when he gets somewhere and gets used to it. Only talks when absolutally neccessary. Having a conversation can be like (metaphorically) getting blood from a stone. He has only ever had a small number of friends. They tended to be very close as well and often stood out in someway themselves. Presently trying to get my bro to apply for positions for when he finishes his maths degree. Is hard work though. He seems to like mathematical modelling. He did a year in industry at Northumbrian Water that he enjoyed. So guess fluid dynamics is the sort of area he has shown most interest in. Sorry getting way off topic again.

 

Thanks David, your posts are always so thoughtful. He actually did his work experience as an IT technician at this uni (its where I work too & I organised it) but the helpdesky stuff he just sat in on rather than actually did. I keep telling him, youll get the same questions over & over & will have help etc. Its just thinking fast on his feet thats difficult. The phone will be hardest as he hates it. Unlike your bro tho he's v chatty, but usually only about things he is interested in, like anti smoking & male pattern baldness

 

It does sound like your bro is a bit spectrumy. Maybe thats why you are drawn to this area of work. My daughter is, she wants to be a teacher then an ed psych, is currently working as a TA & in her first week spotted the autistic kid in the nursery way before anyone else did

[David Matthew Baker]

Actually there is one time my bro talks. For some reason he delights in winding up one of my friends. (The one who is a female Physics teacher.) Mum keeps telling her that she likes the fact that she now comes for lunch each week. During lunch we hear more out of Peter than we do for the rest of the week. My friend hasn't decided whether to be insulted or honoured by the fact he talks to her. I think working with special needs runs in our family a bit. Mum and Dad used to help out quite a lot with this sort of thing when they were a bit younger, often taking groups from one of the local places on trips. Also my Dad is a lecturer and has tended to prefer to work with adults with learning difficulties.

 

I'm sure he'll do better at advising people how to fix problems than I managed on this myself the other night. That was a comedy of errors. If I'd stopped and thought at any point I could probably have avoided it too. My brother made comments that he couldn't get one of our 360s online. Hence I assumed it would be the router setup. Knowing that 360 connects wirelessly I decided to change the wireless settings. After all I had tried to make the network secure a few days before. That didn't work. I then thought. Well if I change the router so it is working in wireless hotspot mode it will get round the problem. That didn't seem to work either. Then I found I could no longer log onto the router using the PC (through a wired network). Hence as I'd managed to get it to a wireless only setup and I didn't think we had any method to connect a PC wirelessly I decided to reset the router. The PC still wouldn't connect to the router. Hence I decided it was in wireless hotspot mode still. I thought I might as well see if the 360 would connect. Knowing settings would have changed I then went to the 360s settings page. To find it was completely blank. Hence the reason it wouldn't connect in the first place. I'd forgotten it was a replacement console. I managed to get the 360 to obtain a I.P. so knew it could at least contact the router but as I'd reset it all the internet settings had been deleted so my ADSL was no longer setup. Then I remebered that my brother's Wii is wireless and has a browser. Tried that wouldn't connect as couldn't resolve a DNS. At this point I decided to restart the PC. Also tried reseting the router a few more times. Came down to the conclusion that I needed a way to wirelessly connect a PC to the router whilst the PC was restarting. Hence drove across town to PC world. There after a lot of debating I purchased a USB wireless dongle. I decided to spend the extra to go to a N1 draft one as that is what my router is. When I got back I started installing the wireless dongle. Thinking I'd installed it I typed in the I.P. address it got through to the router. It then asked me to setup the wireless dongles network. In other words I'd connected through the wired network. My purchase wasn't required! Then had fun and games of finding all the internet settings again. My brother seemed to find all of this rather funny, after getting past the initial annoyed reaction. Urgh! Wasn't pleased with myself in retrospect as I could think of 3 or 4 ways to have solved the problem earlier if I had been thinking more rather than acting. Here is a really good one too. I'm someone most of my friends ask to help them when they have PC problems. Having said that I can normally sort theirs out. It my own stuff that I end up doing silly things with. Sigh!

 

Hope you understood some of that. Might have got a bit technical. I seem to be able to ramble on tonight about not much.

 

Getting more back on topic. From what you have said it is a Uni helpdesk. I guess he will be involved in a particular area then. At least if Durham is anything to go by. I know someone who used to work on their helpdesk. Now works for Google and is across in the states training at the moment. Family are here though. I know that as my Dad babysits for his wife occasionally. In fact one of their children is on the spectrum as it is why my dad is a little bit interested in learning more about ASD. The way Durham's helpdesk seemed to work was that the majority of stuff was sent in by email or by people actually going to the helpdesk. I know they got a few phone calls but they tended to be passed on. I would have thought if he knows how to solve the issues if need be it could be arranged for someone else to take the calls and just assign him problems to work on. Anyway hope things go well, David.

 

P.S. I really am in a talkative mood tonight. That reminds me need to book trains for Oxford trip.

[jb1964]

Good luck - will be keeping my fingers and toes crossed for you all.

 

Take care,

Jb

[pearl]

Thanks, jb.

 

LOL, David, that entire middle section of your reply - whooooosh!!! Way over me head, tho I'm sure J would understand

 

I'm sure you're right about the helpdesky stuff - the ideal spot for him (there are 3 apprenticeships going) would be in the library. Thats where he did his work experience, theres a team of about 12 there, not too big or small, & a few eccentric techies so he'd blend in . I work in the library myself though not on the IT side so our paths wouldnt cross that much, but I have some idea of the q's that are asked regularly & I'm sure he will cope.

 

Hope you enjoy your Oxford meet. Lovely place. Me & Mr pearl once went on pilgrimage there by mistake

It was Heritage Open Weekend & the garden door of Christ church college was open, we wandered in only to find ourselves among all these pilgrims decorating saint Widesfrides shrine It was too late to run away screaming so we winged it, peeps kept asking us, where are you from, & when we said Preston, looked at us like (they thought we'd walked it)

 

We finally found ourselves in Hogwarts dining room along with the paying customers whod come in another entrance, this porter says to us, go & have your free tea & biscuits, you've earned them! No we really havent, we thought, so we gradually edged our way along to where the paying guests were & made our escape

[David Matthew Baker]

Sounds like you had an interesting time when you went to Oxford. Booked up myself now though going to have to try and get out of school a little earlier than I am meant to. Not paying an extra �60 for the sake of about 10 minutes. It sounds like an ideal job for him in many ways. At least if there was a problem and he needed you, you'd be fairly close to hand. Yet far enough away for him to be able to have a bit of space. Hope things go well. All the best, David.

 

P.S. As for main message of long winded middle section from last post. I need to learn to live by the motto 'more haste, less speed.'

[pearl]

Hello again,

well I rang my contact at the uni today to find out what the test would be, its putting a computer together plus an Excel & Word test. All computer based. So I dont think J will need any adjustments, phew!

 

I've booked our parking spaces, told Dave in the minutest detail how to get there & where to meet us, so its just down to research & practice now.

 

I wish it was this week not next as its hanging over us all through the holidays

*slaps own hand* stop moaning woman, just be thankful he's got this far!

 

I'll post again just before so you can all send prayers, good karma, & positive vibes our way, whatever floats your boat we're not fussy!

[David Matthew Baker]

When you say it is all computer based does that mean they're just going to have a computerised test that asks how you assemble a PC or is it going to be practical and hands on? I enjoy making PCs myself. It is afterwards we seem to mess them up. All my friends that I have made work fine. Our own break every so often. Really shouldn't play around and try new software for the sake of it. I am glad that your son is getting the chance to go into a area it sounds like he really enjoys. All the best to you both, David.

[pearl]

I think they get an actual computer to mess about with, which he loves & will have no problems with I should think. Same for excel & word. Fingers crossed I'm right as it would be pants to fall at the final hurdle for want of a few adjustments, but all other things being equal I'm keen for him to look as un-different as possible.

[David Matthew Baker]

I get to build up a new PC tomorrow. Just managed to talk my bro into upgrading. I'll get his old PC too, so in effect get an upgrade. We always put the most upto date one in his room along with the games consoles. Dual core, Windows Vista and DirectX10 here I come.

[pearl]

LOL, I think you & J would get on like a house on fire David