My Work with Deborah , girl on academy 23 who requires learning support

 Deborah arrived at my offices at 840am and after initially going into training room I noticed she got overwhelmed and removed herself from the room instantly and very upset, Michelle my trainer sat with her then I knew I had to go to work with her instantly, I explained about the choices we make in life and to get Deborah to understand if I never made decisions I did we would not be sitting together this morning, she agreed and we agreed after working on techniques to try again, this time with ease as Deborah browsed in the room. I then watched my trainer Michelle walk round the room with a journal in her hand taking note of names of other candidates and memorising names and smiling. so proud of this girl..........

As we all settled into my mad way of delivery, we started late afternoon on everyone asking people one at a time to come up and tell everyone "WHO AM I" that being talking about themselves, as I stared over at Deborah now and again she would shake her head to instruct me I am not doing this, I smiled and simply said, Cool, when we get to you I will help is that ok with you, she nodded in agreement. I realised then we have to work on performance confidence with Deborah, so I leaned over and said do you want me to talk in your behalf and explain the journey in how we met, Deborah agreed, so I went off on one again, also doing a technique that got Deborah to do a timeline and imagine a door 4 weeks ahead with light round the rim of the door, after I finished we discussed performance confidence, I leaned over again and said while I go to water cooler for water can you simply come out to the floor and say "HI" then sit back down, as I walked over to cooler I looked back and Deborah was making a move to the floor what happened next move me to the core........

Deborah stood and explained life story right down to having a tuma and organs removed from her body, talking openly about challenges, after her speech she sat down and everyone looked at each other we could feel the energy in the room, a lot of people sitting open mouth, I simply raised my hands and said Thats what the academies are all about.............

I am very proud of you Deborah, wonder what everyone thinks of you, please feel free to leave comments as this girl at 22 is special, very special, one thing we left a stamp on is no special treatments here, treat me the same, what will tomorrow bring, I have asked for a meeting with the parents to give feedback to date

tell KDS what you think......................

Posted by Stevie Kidd on 17 May 2010 in : KDS Training, KDS Youth Training, Kidd's Distribution Services - KDS Distribution, Personal Enhancement, Road Safety, Training corporate, Training employability

12 Comments

Posted by Alan Gibson on 20 May 2010

The academies area brilliant how they help people , I am from an academy and understand how nervous it is talk to a group about yourself , well done Deborah.

Posted by katie on 19 May 2010

An inspiration to us all! Huge changes from the open day that you should be very proud of! You will be flying by the end of this journey!! What changes has everyone else noticed in Deborah? Katie

Posted by barry hunter on 19 May 2010

very brave debbie go on girl.

Posted by stephen grimley on 19 May 2010

well done deborah on taking the first steps of a journey that can take you anywhere. A little confidence and self belief is all that is needed. Keep believing in yourself and make the right choices to achieve your goals.

Posted by shareen hussain on 18 May 2010

Seeing Deborah give her speech put alot of positive thoughts into my head, I felt that she encouraged me more to reach my full potential. From the quiet girl i saw,to the speech she gave was inspiring.well done Deborah.

Posted by Darran Hughes on 18 May 2010

A little note for Deborah (and you Stevie my friend), To Deborah, that quiet voice that will soon roar! The strength and courage you have shown at The Academy is far greater than that of many so called "successful" people I have worked with. For them, the muster just enough effort to take a single step up from a life without trouble, trauma or harm, to a point of action that is an improvement but falls short of what they could do if they should real courage. Deborah from what Stevie describes, and I trust this man with my life, you have shown 1000 times more power on your first step than you probably realise. It is a MASSIVE thing you have achieved, and only the first as your journey with Stevie moves forward. I wish you all the strength and wisdom you were born with, which is all you will ever need, as you were born AMAZING and will feel that way again very soon! To Stevie, whose roar can be heard across the country, and whose heart is as big as can be: You are without doubt the most incredible man I have the honour to call a friend. We all choose our paths in life and you choose the one most needed by others. Respect and Love to you Big Man :o)

Posted by Steven Hunter on 18 May 2010

I remember meeting Deborah for the first time. I first meeting Deborah at the Reid Kerr College where she had taken the first steps to changing her life. She was accompanied by her parents and was shaking with nervous anticipations. I then interviewed Deborah back at the KDS offices, again Deborah was very nervous, very shy. Having watched Stevie Kidd work his magic on Deborah, what an amazing difference one day can make on these unique academy''s. Well done Stevie and the team

Posted by Michelle Sharpe on 18 May 2010

Fantastic blog! I cannot wait for Deborah to arrive today to hear about the story she shared with her family last night - her first day on Academy 23. Deborah is a true inspiration and I am thrilled that she is participating on the course. She will shine over the noext coming wees, this I am sure of!

Posted by John Shaw on 18 May 2010

Just one word, WOW. For someone to be turned round and to have the confidence to openly talk about her situation, after Deborah’s story, it makes me wonder if my simple worries are worth worrying about.

Posted by Ross Fairgrieve on 18 May 2010

Deborah, you are one brave girl and will be an inspiration on your academy. Enjoy the journey and keep smiling!

Posted by Darren on 18 May 2010

I love when people surprise themselves and others by achieving things that they never thought they could. i look forward to meeting Deborah. Never underestimate what people are capable of. Fantastic.

Posted by Paul McKirdy on 17 May 2010

Hi Deborah Very well done to you for taking the steps that could change your life, Talking about yourself can be a very hard thing to do. But hey you done it, the next time you talk in front of a crowd you will wonder what all the fuss was about! My boy Mark came into KDS for some work experience about a month ago, now we can not get him to stop talking about himself and what he wants in life. Again very well done. Paul

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