AN admin assistant at a Bolton law firm hopes to inspire others with a disability who are looking for work.

Sophie Evans has a speech impediment and co-ordination disorder and works in the complex injury credit hire team at Keoghs in Middlebrook.

Her role, with a mentor on hand, is supported by the Working Well programme, which is delivered across Greater Manchester by Ingeus and is backed by the European Social Fund.

Sophie, from Atherton, who secured the post through her local job centre after finishing university, has a stutter and dyspraxia. But she is adamant that, with the right support, her conditions need not be an obstacle to progress.

She said: “I have a speech impediment that people would generally describe as a stutter and I also have dyspraxia, which affects a person’s motor skills. However, I try not to let this dominate my life.

“I have had to face various challenges in my life and some people just don’t understand or have the patience.

“I now want to inspire and reassure other people, including those with speech impediments and low self-esteem, by saying ‘you don’t have to struggle on your own’.”

In the first instance, she received help with building up her CV and improving her interview skills.

One-to-one coaching also resulted in her self-confidence improving, before she attended a four-week work academy supported by Keoghs and run by Bolton College.

Her work with Keoghs involves supporting her team through duties such as filing, printing and scanning and computer inputting.

Lizzy Durham, her Ingeus key worker, said: “Our key goal was to enable Sophie to regain her self-confidence and provide the means for Sophie to improve her job-seeking skills. She’s now an incredible role model.”

Rachel Mitchell-Dyson, Keoghs’ responsible business manager, added: “We are delighted that Sophie has joined us and found Keoghs so welcoming and supportive, to the extent that she now wants to share her story to encourage and inspire other people and highlight the fantastic support that is available to them.”