3.2 Ben

Ben is studying for an apprenticeship in plumbing. His father runs a successful building business, and Ben has always enjoyed helping out at weekends. He has become especially good at seeing practical solutions to some of the problems on building sites, such as skilfully adding pipes that had been forgotten on the architect’s plans. Ben has found he has a gift for reading these drawings and spotting errors. He is often called to the office on site to explain to one of the other workers how the two-dimensional image of a detail on the plan will need to be constructed.

Figure 3 Meet Ben (model used for illustration only)

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This is a photograph of a young white man, in a workshop with various bits of piping, taps and appliances visible behind him. He is dressed in blue overalls. He is leaning on a table and writing.

Figure 3 Meet Ben (model used for illustration only)

Ben loved Lego and Meccano as a child and quickly built complicated constructions from the pictures on the box, rarely reading the step-by-step instructions. He would concentrate for long periods of time on these tasks, but he found it hard to focus on most other tasks. This was especially the case when it came to schoolwork. Ben found reading and writing challenging, so he tended to act as the class clown. While reading, he kept losing his place, and while writing, he often missed out words or phrases.

Even now, as a young adult, Ben avoids reading and prefers to learn by watching videos and taking things apart so he can see how they work. Knowing about his difficulties at school and recognising something of himself in them, Ben’s father encouraged his son to explore the world through physical interactions and pursuits.

Sport is a source of great joy and relaxation for Ben. He enjoys watching and playing various sports, which he is naturally good at, and he also finds that the concentration his training requires curbs his distractibility. The family had always taken active holidays where Ben and his brothers could climb or swim, and Ben has continued climbing as a hobby.

Ben enjoys racing his cross-country motorbike and often spends time cleaning and repairing it. When faced with any written work or assignments associated with his apprenticeship course, he finds his inclination to put off tasks that he is not interested in so strong that he will leave them until the last minute. He is also very disorganised and well known among his friends for leaving his belongings everywhere.