They Hope the Word Spreads to Employers

Like many people, Shawnna Crout has a problem with public speaking.

Crout gets nervous and fidgets, wishing she were anyplace but in front of dozens of eyes, all looking right at her.

Swallowing her fright, she starts: “Hello. My name is Shawnna Crout. . . . I have cerebral palsy.”

Along with more than a dozen other student workers at Saddleback Community Enterprises, a nonprofit job-training center for the developmentally disabled, the 27-year-old woman is learning to conquer her fears in a speech class called Saddleback Speakers.

For two years, the Saddleback Speakers have given talks to local service groups and potential employers, helping the job center find work for the developmentally disabled.

Ultimately, the Saddleback Speakers “want to let everyone know that people with developmental disabilities are wonderful neighbors and friends,” said Suzy Elwell, an employee at the center who conducts the class. “The community will never know that unless they have a chance to meet them.”

Members of the Saddleback Speakers talk about themselves, their families and their work at the job center. The center trains and pays student workers for tasks such as assembling medical components. Some students are placed into jobs with private businesses.

Elwell said the center doesn’t track the numbers, but calls to place its student workers increase whenever the Saddleback Speakers are out in the community.

“Potential employers see what kind of high-caliber person we work with,” she said.

The student workers “have taught me a lot about courage, honesty and heart.”

But long before they stand before an audience, Elwell trains her students by giving them public speaking pointers and letting their confidence grow in class.

“We take baby steps at first,” she said. “But doing something they had fear of gives them pride and self-esteem.”

Jennifer Serra, 29, has been working steadily for six months to get ready to speak in the outside world.

Last week, she bounced in her seat while waving her hand, trying to get a chance to talk before the group.

Later that afternoon, she sent Elwell a note by computer, saying: “I felt nervous; I felt happy. I feel ready. Thank you.”

Said Elwell: “That message meant the world to me. To me, that’s success.”

Information: (714) 837-7280.