We can... Daniel

We met Daniel whilst he was working with his class in the grounds of Coleg Cambria Northop.  He and his fellow students were getting hands on experience in the horticulture section of the college and it was great to see the enthusiasm they all showed for practical tasks.

Whilst Daniel has a learning disability you can see how keen he is to work and be a valuable member of his community.  He spoke with such pride about the experiences he shares with his grandfather who takes him on trips to ride the steam trains.  Simple pleasures like the colours of the trucks he sees and riding on steam trains make Daniel so happy and it is wonderful to see such enthusiasm.  I think this project has taught us many things but one of the most important is to actually take time to enjoy the simpler things in life – life the colours of trucks, rolling fast down a hill or even just enjoying a bag of chips at the seaside!  There is so much we can actually learn from people with learning disabilities.

“I really like cooking because you get to take it home to eat it.  When I finish, I want to be a copper because my mum says I would be good at telling people off.  I really like telling people off when they are naughty. 

“Outside college I like going on the trains with my grandad.  We go to Seven Valley in the West Midlands and I am a member there.  I love trains.  I drove one once and we made breakfast on it.  I would love to do something with trains one day.   My favourite trip was to Scarborough and then we had chips and a Mc Donald’s. 
 

“The trucks also make me really happy because I love the names on them and the colours.  I also like bike riding especially going down hills because I like to go fast.  I don’t like going up hill.”

Daniel has moderate learning difficulties.