Slur directed at autistic son knocked Gillian sideways, but she reacted in the best way she could.
A mum has decided to open an accessible chip shop so her autistic son has a job for life.
Gillian Jervis got the idea to open Oliver’s Chippy in Warton, Lancs, near Blackpool after a stranger labelled her son Oliver a ‘burden on the state’ in an online chat forum.
The comment stopped the mum of four in her tracks. She said that she sometimes thinks she dreamt the comment and that she made it up because why would you say something like that?
Determined not to let the troll win, the mum decided to make her own future for her son by setting up a business in his name.
Oliver’s Chippy in Warton, on Lancashire’s Fylde coast, opened in 2021 with the now 14-year-old’s future in mind.
Gillian added that employment-wise, he wouldn’t be able to just leave school and go straight into a job like a neurotypical child.
Oliver’s autism can cause some communication problems, so Oliver’s Chippy is designed with neurodivergent and learning-disabled people in mind, with visual screens on the menus and tills as opposed to words and phrases.
She said that if you’ve got dyspraxia, selective mute, people who have trauma, where if they start speaking something might trigger them.
She added that you’ve got people with a stutter, so she’s looked at it this way. Before people start to speak, they look at the pictures, don’t they? It’s better to see a picture of what you want, it gives you the confidence to come into the shop and order what they want without saying it.
Gillian had worked in chip shops in the 90s before becoming a stay-at-home mum to raise her four children.
Since opening, Oliver’s Chippy has given out free meals to 1,300 children and supported other families across the Fylde Coast with giveaways including an iPad and air fryer.
She said, explaining the motivation, that we’ve had the cost of living crisis, fuel shortages, the after-effects of COVID and people not working as they were, with people losing their jobs due to COVID as well.
The shop first began giving away free meals during the Easter holidays when it opened at its own cost, before getting support from Bryning with Warton Parish Council and a GoFundMe appeal to provide more help to the community.
I do hope that this business is a success and here’s hoping the very best to this amazing lady and her son’s future. This mother had such a good idea and she’s a great mum and a great human being.
This was such a positive idea and one son that will be happy, and just future-proof to ensure that nobody takes advantage of him, and well done to his mother who should be applauded. Numerous families do their best to help their additional support needs children to reach their potential and protect their futures, who will read this with joy.
This chippy not only helps her son but also the customers as well, and as a parent with an additional needs son, you’re a great inspiration to others.
I wish you all the luck in the world and much success because a mother’s love is priceless.
I can never understand people and their terrible comments about people with any form of disability, it’s disgraceful.
Wonder Woman is real. She’s an awesome lady and an awesome mum.
Well done to this amazing mother and whoever made the vulgar comment should bow their head in shame. Nobody knows another person’s circumstances and they should beware because you never know what life might throw at you, and they might find themselves in a similar position and end up being on the end of their offensive comments.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 