Today’s #20TriumphsIn20Days features Josh, 21. As a youngster, Josh felt somethin different. His brain “was on overdrive”, & only music seemed to soothe him. “I’m obsessed with music”, he says.
Now he’s moving to a new beat- and it’s in harmony with where h needs to be. Thread👇
Now he’s moving to a new beat- and it’s in harmony with where h needs to be. Thread👇
The signs were there as early as pre school. The glue bottles. Josh formed a bit of an obsession with them. “I had this habit”, Josh recalls with a sheepish grin. “The dried glue on the bottles. I’d pick it all off. Normal people don’t pick off glue. I felt like the weird kid.”
There were other problems. Josh developed social anxieties. He ran from people. “I feared people would always look at me differently”, Josh tells me. There were numerous tests to find out why he was obsessed with things-like those glue bottles.
Nothing would stick.
Nothing would stick.
By the time he was a 6th grader, where Josh admits to misbehaving, he was tested for Asperger’s. Finally- there seemed to be an answer.
“I had my brain on overdrive & was overthinking a lot. I found my peace in music. I have to have music constantly.”
While there was a relief
“I had my brain on overdrive & was overthinking a lot. I found my peace in music. I have to have music constantly.”
While there was a relief
in a diagnosis, there were still questions. Naturally creative, Josh loves working with computers and composing music. Yet, a hobby does not always a career make. After graduating from Highland High School, a counselor introduced Josh to @ErskineGreen- the Muncie based training
institute designed to empower individuals with disabilities. Josh enrolled in the 13 week program- his first time away from home. “It was worth it,” he enthusiastically states. “It felt nice to be around people as like minded as I. They taught hands on skills.” After graduating
from EGTi in 2019, Josh landed a job at Franciscan Health Hospital of Dyer, Indiana. While he originally was interested in patient transport, he has found a home within food services.
“When I got my job at the hospital, I felt different. I felt like an adult”, Josh said.
“When I got my job at the hospital, I felt different. I felt like an adult”, Josh said.
In addition to working at the hospital, Josh is enrolled at @IvyTechCC for HVAC certification, hoping to own an HVAC company.
There’s no reason to think he won’t. When Josh sets his mind to something, he makes sure it sticks.
Unless it’s glue. That’s gotta come off the bottle.
There’s no reason to think he won’t. When Josh sets his mind to something, he makes sure it sticks.
Unless it’s glue. That’s gotta come off the bottle.
Josh’s opportunities have come largely thanks to Erskine Green. If you’d like to learn more, or help others like Josh, you may do so, here:
erskinegreeninstitute.org
erskinegreeninstitute.org
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