THE doctor was trying to be helpful, but his prediction that teenager Mark Crosbie would never be able to work was a bitter blow. It sounded very much like a life sentence, or rather a no life sentence.
Thankfully the former special school pupil whose future seemed bleak is a shining example of what you can achieve, if you are just given the chance.
Mark has just received his NVQ Level 2 certificate and he is so well thought of at his paid job at Asda, that regular customers queue up for a chat and one was so impressed that she showered him with praise in a letter to his employers.
"I wanted to tell my story at the conference to give other people the chances I've had. You can do it," says the Stockton success story, whose achievements have helped to make him a very confident young man.
His proud mom Pat adds: "The difference in him is enormous. When the doctor wrote those damning words, he was trying to help us to get disability benefits for him, but it was a big blow.
I'm so proud that Mark has proved everybody wrong."
Things did look gloomy when Mark left school and college, at 19. He had no idea where to turn next and his mom was worried sick about what the future might hold.
"I didn't want him to be sat at home twiddling his thumbs, but the day centres I saw seemed like another dead end," she says.
"You look at this six foot four young man and think there's nothing wrong with him. Although Mark is classed as 'normal' whatever normal is in a lot of ways, his learning disabilities mean that he has trouble with time and money. But I knew that he just needed support.
"At that age the world should be your oyster, not a closed door."
Pat works as a receptionist for Stockton Council's Health and Social Care Department, and heard about Shaw Trust from a social worker. "Shaw Trust were the light at the end of a dark tunnel," says Mark, now 25.
"When I left college I felt daunted, like I did when I left school. I wasn't sure what was round the next bend for me. It's not a nice world when you don't know what your place is in it. Then mom contacted Shaw Trust and things started happening."
Mark joined Grangefield, now the Shaw Trust Stockton Project, for work preparation, and has come on leaps and bounds. He progressed from on site personal development to off site work experience, and found time to take a computer course too. He was also coached in travel training, which helps clients to cope with getting about on their own.
Eventually Mark joined Asda as a voluntary worker, making up shopping orders for the elderly under a council scheme. When that ended, Mark got the best praise possible. His bosses were so impressed with his work that they offered him the one opening for a three day a week paid job.
"That felt good," he smiles. "Brilliant, actually!
"Having a job has improved my timing and working out money, but my mom helped a lot by taking the time to teach me. She's one in a million."
Mark's pretty special too, agrees Pat. "Shaw Trust sowed the seeds, but Mark is the one who has done it. But there would have been nothing for Mark without the Trust."
Mark is tipped for even greater things, as his confidence and experience of work grows. "I've got a lot more to offer, but I'm very happy with things at the moment," he says.
"I really enjoy my job, and not just because of the money! Working makes me feel like everyone else, because having a job is part of who we are."
