``HE'S HAPPY AND . . . WE HAVE THESE WONDERFUL PEOPLE TO THANK.'' : AUTISTIC MAN'S TRIUMPH GIVES HOPE TO OTHERS.His name is David Hall David Hall may refer to:
He walks to work in the morning, walks home at night, to a small apartment only a few blocks away from the store. He is 30 years old and he lives alone. The center of his life, he says, is Kinko's, his co-workers there and his family. Never in his wildest dreams, David Hall says, did he imagine he could come this far in life. Be his own man, live on his own, hold down a full-time job. And on Thursday morning, in a place called Sam's Cafe on the grounds of New Horizons, a North Hills social service agency where they mold the lives and futures of hundreds of David Halls every year - adults with developmental disabilities developmental disabilities (DD), n.pl the pathologic conditions that have their origin in the embryology and growth and development of an individual. DDs usually appear clinically before 18 years of age. - David walked nervously to a microphone and said thank you to a roomful of employers who hire New Horizons grads like him. In the audience, his mother, Theresa Hall, looked over at her daughter Nadine Hall, and the two women exchanged proud smiles that spoke volumes about their lives with the young man standing at the microphone. ``For this day to come, it's just tremendous,'' Theresa Hall says, her voice trailing off as she tries to keep her emotions in check, tries to keep a smile on her face to bolster her nervous son standing at the microphone. ``For all the things we went through, the special schools, the doctors, fighting for his rights, all the heartache - I'm just so proud of him right now.'' Nadine takes her mother's hand and squeezes it. ``My brother has high intelligence,'' she says, in a voice barely above a whisper. ``He just can't get to it. The autism autism (ô`tĭzəm), developmental disability resulting from a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain. It is characterized by the abnormal development of communication skills, social skills, and reasoning. robbed him of that. ``But now, finally, he's happy and independent in life, and for that we have these wonderful people to thank.'' These wonderful people. The staff at New Horizons, and the dozens of employers in the room who give the David Halls of the Valley jobs, when others won't even give them the time of day. Employers like Sanwa Bank of California The Bank of California was founded in San Francisco, California on July 5, 1864 by William Chapman Ralston. It was the first commercial bank in the Western United States, the second-richest bank in the nation, and considered instrumental in developing the American Old West. , Wicks Furniture, Galpin Ford, Discount Pets, JC&P Electronics, Northridge Pacific Cinemas, Thrifty thrifty said of livestock that put on body weight or produce in other ways with a minimum of feed. The opposite of illthrift. Corp., Wilshire Retirement Center, Vons, Target, Century 8 Movie Theater, Teletech, and J.C. Penney Outlet Store An outlet store or factory outlet is a retail store in which manufacturers sell their stock directly to the public through their own branded stores. The stores can be can be brick and mortar or online. . Employers like Pitney Bowes  This article or section is written like an .Please help [ rewrite this article] from a neutral point of view. Mark blatant advertising for , using . , Entertainment Partners, McDonald's, North Valley Nursing Center, Caltronics, Cinema Secrets, Pacific Industrial Components Inc., Mid-Valley Chamber of Commerce, C&G Mercury Plastics, Trader Joe's Trader Joe's is a privately held chain of specialty grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. As of September 2007, Trader Joe's has a total of 284 stores.[1] , Carl's Jr., Bank of America
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC TYO: 8648 ) is the largest commercial bank in the United States in terms of deposits, and the largest company of its kind in the world. , and Litton Guidance and Control System. Without them, David, Jose Oropesa, Damon Sanchez and dozens of other grads attending New Horizons' second annual Employer Awards Breakfast Thursday morning would never be able to stand on their own - stand in front of a microphone and say thank you. A few feet from where Theresa and Nadine Hall sit, David Hall's boss at Kinko's, Tim Coleman Not be confused with Ernie Coleman (born 1908), who was sometimes nicknamed "Tim". John George "Tim" Coleman (October 26, 1881 – November 20, 1940) was an English footballer. , smiles as he listens to the young man he calls his most loyal employee read from a prepared speech. The young man at the microphone bears no resemblance to the scared young man who walked into his store three years ago for his first day of work, Coleman says. ``New Horizons had sent along David's job coach, Tony Curry, with him for a couple of days until he got comfortable. David was David Was (born David Weiss, 26 October 1952, Detroit) is, with his stage-brother Don Was, the founder of the influential 1980s pop group, Was (Not Was). Reviewed by The New York Times so scared he literally hid behind Tony. It was heartbreaking. ``In three years, David's gone from hiding behind his job coach to operating a big part of the store,'' Coleman said. ``The customers love him. Many of them bring in their work and won't let anyone but David touch it.'' On Jan. 1 of this year, David Hall, who never thought he would get this far in life, officially became a stockholder of Kinko's. He was awarded the company's Founder Grant - 300 shares of stock. ``Technically, I guess I'm working for him now,'' a smiling Tim Coleman says, as David steps away from the microphone and the room erupts in applause. By 10 a.m. Thursday, the grads and employers being honored by New Horizon, and Brenda Permo, director of the State of California's Department of Rehabilitation, had left to return to their workplaces. The only people left in Sam's Cafe were the undergrads This article is about the television show. For the educational term, see undergraduate education. This article or section does not cite its . You can Wikipedia by introducing appropriate citations. , the next class of David Hall's looking to learn about jobs in food services food services Hospital services A 24/7 department in a hospital that provides for the nutritional needs of inpatients–eg, those needing special diets, preparing meals and transporting them to the floor and, through the cafeteria, the hospital staff and , and other industries where, one day, they hope to stand on their own and go far in life, like David. They've got the talent, loyalty and drive. Now, all they need are the jobs. Dennis McCarthy's column appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1) David Hall said thank you to a roomful of employers who hire New Horizon's graduates like him. (2) Carol DeMarois, David Hall's shift supervisor at Kinko's, examines his award. Myung J. Chun/Daily News |
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