‘CAO wasn’t the route for me — NLN has given me a new life’
JESSICA HEARNE is one of the 60,000 people in Ireland living with autism. She remembers the nervousness she felt when she received her Leaving Cert results.
“It was like a big deal, as if your whole life was determined by what was written on that piece of paper.”
Because of the challenges associated with autism, the student from Curracloe, Co Wexford, struggled through both primary and secondary school.
While autism may often be considered a ‘hidden condition’, characterised by having a difficulty with social interaction, Jessica says “it’s much more than that. It’s shyness, lacking in interaction, and emotional difficulty. Things can come on top of you very easily.
“It’s also bullying. Autism and bullying sort of come together, unfortunately.”
Jessica had enjoyed business at school and accepted a CAO offer for a business course in IT Carlow, but she struggled with a lot of the theory elements.
“I pushed on and passed first year, but I repeated second year. I knew at that stage it wasn’t for me and I couldn’t continue with the daily struggle. What was the point?
“Not sure what to do with my life, I completed a couple of different courses, including ECDL, dedicated to improving digital skills.”
From there, she was referred to the National Learning Network (NLN) in Wexford. NLN is the training and education division of the Rehab Group, and has over 50 training centres nationwide, supporting people with disabilities, unemployed, illness or mental health issues.
While she admits initial scepticism about joining, she was encouraged that 85pc of people who complete NLN programmes go on to get a job or to further education.
“It was about gaining practical skills,” says Jessica, who, after working on Community Employment Schemes, returned to NLN and an Employer Based Training (EBT) course, which combines on-the-job experience with classroom training.
“It’s all about finding what you like and matching your skills with that,” she says.
“As it turned out, the CAO and college route wasn’t for me. There are other options out there, NLN has given me a new life,” says Jessica.