美国国家公共电台 NPR For People With Developmental Disabilities, Food Work Means More Self Reliance

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST: 

During these first few weeks of the new year, we're meeting a series of people who are trying to pursue their American dream through the most basic part of life - food. Today, two young women who've struggled to leave their parents' home, find work, build a life of their own to be independent. They have developmental disabilities. And for them, as for many people with autism or cerebral¹ palsy, this step into adulthood² can be a monumental challenge. NPR's Rhitu Chatterjee says that working in the food service industry can be a path towards that dream of independence.

RHITU CHATTERJEE, BYLINE³: I meet Victoria Reedy at her home in Schenectady, N.Y.

Hi, Vicky.

VICTORIA REEDY: Hi. How are you?

CHATTERJEE: Vicky's 23, lives with her parents and two sisters. She has long black hair and wears sparkly⁴ nail polish. And although she's of normal height now, as a child, she was very small. That's because she had problems with her pituitary gland⁵. It didn't produce enough growth hormone⁶.

REEDY: I was six years old and the same size as my little sister, who's four years younger than me.

CHATTERJEE: Her brain was slow to develop, too. It affected⁷ her speech and her ability to socialize, and school felt really hard.

REEDY: I struggled at just about everything but art, had a really hard time reading, writing and, like, learning things, in general.

CHATTERJEE: She got through school thanks to a program for developmentally disabled kids, and doctors fixed⁸ some of her growth issues with medication. But until about a year and a half ago, she depended on her parents for everything outside their home from getting around to handling money. Then she got a job at a bakery.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (Unintelligible).

REEDY: OK. Now I...

CHATTERJEE: Puzzles Bakery and Cafe in downtown Schenectady is bright and spacious⁹ and packed with customers sitting down for lunch. Vicky stands behind the counter matching orders coming out of the kitchen, making sure her colleague serving customers takes the right order to the tables.

REEDY: These three are going to that table behind Dan (ph).

CHATTERJEE: As a senior cafe attendant¹⁰, Vicky handles customers, trains interns¹¹, organizes food. And in between, she works in the kitchen, doing dishes or slicing meat and cheese. Today, she's been slicing a brick of provolone with an electric food slicer. It can take up to 20 minutes to go through a block of cheese, but Vicky says she finds it rewarding. Later during her lunch break, Vicky tells me how the job has helped her.

REEDY: I have better people skills at this job.

CHATTERJEE: She's even made new friends among her colleagues, and she says she's more confident and independent.

REEDY: I take the to bus just about every place I go if I'm not travelling with Mom or Dad or any of my friends.

CHATTERJEE: And her colleagues can see the difference in her. Sara Mae Pratt is Vicky's boss and the owner of the cafe. She says working with food is a good fit for someone like Vicky.

SARA MAE PRATT: Food is very forgiving. If you mess up, not a big deal. You can throw it away. Try again.

REEDY: And some of the work, she says, like slicing cheese, stacking dishes is structured and repetitive, which many people with intellectual disabilities enjoy and even excel¹² at. And, Pratt says, for people with social anxiety, preparing and serving food can be really helpful.

PRATT: They actually get to take part in the creation¹³ of this food and bring it to the customer and see that smile on their face. So I think that's a really wonderful thing about food. It really connects people.

CHATTERJEE: This was one of the main reasons Pratt opened Puzzles Bakery and Cafe in April 2015. She wanted to find a way to employ people with developmental disabilities who otherwise struggled to find jobs. She knows this from her own personal experience. Her 23-year-old sister Emily has autism.

PRATT: I certainly struggled with - what will my sister be doing for the rest of her adult life? She has a very long life ahead of her.

CHATTERJEE: Her sister is to disabled to work, but Pratt saw a need to help those who can work.

PRATT: When an individual can find their sense of purpose and really feel like they're contributing in a meaningful way, that is just so special.

CHATTERJEE: More than 50 percent of her staff has a developmental disability. Madeline Hannon is 23 and has autism.

MADELINE HANNON: Order for Mary Ann (ph).

CHATTERJEE: She only works three hours a day and spends a lot of it serving customers.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Thank you so much.

M. HANNON: Have a good day.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: You, too.

CHATTERJEE: Later, Maddy tells me about her dreams for the future.

M. HANNON: I want to work at Disney World in a bakery.

CHATTERJEE: Why Disney World?

M. HANNON: They have more, like, gourmet¹⁴ stuff.

CHATTERJEE: But that would require you to move out of Schenectady, and would be OK with that?

M. HANNON: Definitely, yes.

CHATTERJEE: When Maddy's mother, Kathleen Hannon, stops by to pick her up at the end of a shift, she tells me the job has transformed her daughter.

KATHLEEN HANNON: The Maddy that walked in here probably the first day probably didn't say hello to people when they come in, where today I know she's out there. She will talk to the customers that come in. And we've seen a big difference in her, you know, at home. She's happy.

CHATTERJEE: Kathy says the job has given Maddy a sense of belonging.

K. HANNON: It's her job. It's her friends. It's her responsibilities. That's important.

CHATTERJEE: She says Maddy recognizes that she'll always need extra support, but the job has made her realize how much she can do on her own.

K. HANNON: She's wandering further and further away from us. She's looking for more independence.

CHATTERJEE: And, she says, it's at once scary and wonderful. Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR News.

1 cerebral   

adj.脑的，大脑的；有智力的，理智型的

参考例句：

• Your left cerebral hemisphere controls the right-hand side of your body.你的左半脑控制身体的右半身。
• He is a precise,methodical,cerebral man who carefully chooses his words.他是一个一丝不苟、有条理和理智的人，措辞谨慎。

2 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 sparkly   

闪耀的

参考例句：

• Gardens and fields, sparkly green, decorated the desert landscape like bright emerald necklaces. 一片挨着一片绿得发亮的花园和田园，活像晶亮的绿宝石项链点缀着这荒凉的背景。 来自教父部分
• Description of Moongate: Blue oval sparkly vortex as tall as a player and about as wide. 月门的描述：能容纳一个玩家高宽的椭圆形，里面是有火花的蓝色漩涡。 来自互联网

5 gland   

n.腺体，(机)密封压盖，填料盖

参考例句：

• This is a snake's poison gland.这就是蛇的毒腺。
• Her mother has an underactive adrenal gland.她的母亲肾上腺机能不全。

6 hormone   

n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

9 spacious   

adj.广阔的，宽敞的

参考例句：

• Our yard is spacious enough for a swimming pool.我们的院子很宽敞，足够建一座游泳池。
• The room is bright and spacious.这房间很豁亮。

10 attendant   

n.随从，跟班，出席者，服务员；adj.伴随的，出席的，注意的，在场的

参考例句：

• She was interrupted by the entrance of an attendant.服务员进来，打断了她的话。
• We met the officer attendant on the general.我们见到了随从将军的副官。

11 interns   

n.住院实习医生( intern的名词复数 )v.拘留，关押( intern的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Our interns also greet our guests when they arrive in our studios. 我们的实习生也会在嘉宾抵达演播室的时候向他们致以问候。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• The interns work alongside experienced civil engineers and receive training in the different work sectors. 实习生陪同有经验的国内工程师工作，接受不同工作部门的相关培训。 来自超越目标英语 第4册

12 excel   

v.胜过，优于，杰出，善于，擅长于

参考例句：

• If your talent combines with diligence,you can excel in your pursuit.如果你把天赋与勤奋结合起来，你所追求的事业便会出类拔萃。
• He is working hard to excel his predecessors.他正努力超越他的前任。

13 creation   

n.创造，创造的作品，产物，宇宙，天地万物

参考例句：

• Language is the most important mental creation of man.语言是人类头脑最重要的产物。
• The creation of new playgrounds will benefit the local children.新游戏场的建立将有益于当地的儿童。

14 gourmet   

n.食物品尝家；adj.出于美食家之手的

参考例句：

• What does a gourmet writer do? 美食评论家做什么？
• A gourmet like him always eats in expensive restaurants.像他这样的美食家总是到豪华的餐馆用餐。