Autism takes backseat for mall employee and his customers

A dedicated Wendy’s worker is matched by dedicated store employees at Quaker Bridge Mall

By: Molly Petrilla
   LAWRENCE — When he sees his boss with the phone in her hand, Matthew Spain can’t think about much else.
   "Patty’s on the phone. Is it a business call, Jo-Jo?" he asks his older sister and job coach, Joanne Spain.
   He repeatedly lifts his sea-green visor up, then places it back over his short hair as she goes to check.
   No. No one is ordering food right now. Besides, he’s already made two deliveries today.
   But Mr. Spain, 31, is disappointed — because, as his sister puts it, he loves to go out into the mall, do his job and "chat with people."
   The Rocky Hill resident has done plenty of that since he started working at Wendy’s in the Quaker Bridge Mall about a year and a half ago. Over time, his lanky frame has become a fixture as he brings Spicy Chicken sandwiches and Junior Bacon Cheeseburgers to hungry employees at the mall’s stores.
   His efforts to secure the job began almost two years ago when he and his mother contacted Allies Inc., a Hamilton-based nonprofit organization that offers residential, employment and advocacy programs for people with disabilities.
   Mr. Spain suffers from autism — a developmental disability that leads to difficulties in communication and social interaction — and was paired with Mike Cestero, the job coach who urged Wendy’s to create a delivery position.
   Jackie — a mall employee who did not wish to reveal her last name — says she doesn’t even like fast food, but makes an exception for Mr. Spain, often placing orders or stopping by the restaurant just to see him.
   "I see a big improvement since he first got the job," she says. "He remembers me now every time I see him and says, ‘Hello.’ In the beginning, he’d just walk right by."
   The restaurant’s general manager, Patricia Stoop, also says Mr. Spain has blossomed since she first met him.
   "He’s doing really well," she says. "People like him. He’s very friendly, very helpful. We’ll have customers call up and say, ‘Is Matt there today?’ They’re always disappointed if he’s not."
   Ms. Spain, who stays with her brother during his shifts and also goes with him on deliveries, says he "really puts his heart and soul" into his work.
   Though he often has trouble with motor skills — it took him "forever" to learn to mop the floor, she says — Mr. Spain now is responsible not only for delivering orders to employees in stores throughout the mall, but also for dropping off menus, cleaning trays and tables and keeping the condiments tidy.
   "He really likes to do a good job," his sister says. "It means a lot to him."
   In fact, Mr. Spain says he always looks forward to going to work, and his sister says he is often dressed and ready to go long before his shift is scheduled to start.
   "I work really well," Mr. Spain says, adding that "regulars" are his favorite deliveries to make.
   "People do look for him," his sister adds.
   And they’ll likely be seeing more of him in the coming weeks.
   Though he currently works the 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. lunch shift on Thursdays and Fridays, Ms. Stoop says she plans to increase Mr. Spain’s hours for the holiday season starting Nov. 20, at which time he will be working four to five days each week.