When his contract at the clothing store ended, Iñaki began sending his resume to different companies, but he always found closed doors. Thus, he began working as a traveling salesman during the summer and looked for casual jobs for the winter. At first, it was the money to “go rowing”, but when his mother saw an advertisement for the sale of goodwill of a kiosk and suggested that he start a business, all the money he collected was saved to reach his goal. .
Iñaki Kiosk with his mother Mariela-Asperger (7).JPG
Maria Isabel Sanchez
Mariela, who is the designer of the habitat, was in charge of remodeling the property to leave it in good condition. Meanwhile, Iñaki was in charge of managing the commercial license and completing the procedures with Bromatology to be able to make the official opening.
“In April and May we started to remodel the place, we changed the furniture, the air conditioning, the façade was reconditioned, what didn’t we do!” explained Iñaki, who already in June began selling the first products to the public.
“We have a neighbor who is a kiosk owner and he is like my business advisor,” he said. Thus, he learned which purchases he should make first and which products had the most sales in the store. Today, he already has some regular clients, who come to the business every day and from whom he has already learned his tastes.
Iñaki Kiosk with his mother Mariela-Asperger (1).JPG
Maria Isabel Sanchez
“Near the kiosk there is a hotel and Victoria, one of the employees, was one of the first to enter the premises. I remember why she took all the coconut chocolates. She spread the word and more people began to come,” he said and He added that other merchants or workers in the area usually go to the kisoco to buy something sweet for their snacks.
Already with regular customers and in full growth, the kiosk is presented as a safe space for Iñaki. Mariela, her mother, breathes a sigh of relief knowing that she has a source of income and a responsibility that she assumes with joy. “The fear of all parents of Asperger’s children is what will happen when we are not there,” she clarified.
“I encourage him to be independent, he drives, he has bank accounts, credit cards. I put together a form for him so he knows what he has to pay, where to get the funds from, what they are receiving,” she said, adding that she See focused and enjoying your new work activity.
Iñaki Kiosk with his mother Mariela-Asperger (3).JPG
Maria Isabel Sanchez
“Our family dynamic is simple: it is him and I. We are hyperactivity and tranquility. He is my tranquility,” said Mariela, without hiding her emotion. “He has a lot of peace, always a timely response. He has another type of vision, he always sees another side to things, which is typical of him. It’s where he sees me overwhelmed, he looks for a simple answer, he doesn’t complicate it. It’s very understanding,” he said.
And just as she faced obstacles with her head held high, with a team of professionals who supported Iñaki’s early stimulation, the young man also faces his new challenge with an entrepreneurial spirit.
“There is an idea that young people do not want to work. It is the generational war that has always existed,” said the kiosk owner. Today, in his new role, he dedicates every free moment to sweeping the sidewalk or maintaining the cleanliness of the business, he also checks the inventory or the expiration date of the food, always with a challenge ahead of him.
Iñaki Kiosk with his mother Mariela-Asperger (4).JPG
Maria Isabel Sanchez
However, he never loses sight of the enormous weight that his mother had in the present he is going through. “She was the one who provided the idea, capital, she is the designer of the habitat and also decorated the premises,” he said and clarified that the candy distributors “are delighted” to see how the room, located at 163 Tucumán Street, was decorated.
Just a month after raising the store’s shutters, Iñaki has already garnered the first loyal customers and oiled the sales mechanism. For the future, he says that he would like to add refrigerators with food for the people who work at the center and even include a shelf with other products, such as pipes or water pipes.
Thus, he does not stop dreaming of a future that gives him economic stability and that helps him demonstrate that there is no limitation that resists the perseverance and continuous support of the family.
The story of Iñaki and Asperger’s
Mariela Almaraz explained that her son Iñaki’s growth was difficult due to the consequences of her early birth. The baby was born at only 22 weeks of gestation and weighed less than a kilo. For this reason, since he was a baby he had the support of psychologists, speech therapists and early stimulation professionals.
Only at the age of five was he able to adopt a social language and his mother noticed that he had a more solitary and introspective attitude. “At six years old, her psychologist gave us the diagnosis, Asperger’s syndrome,” Mariela said, adding that since then she has been undergoing treatment to be able to develop independently despite the limitations of the condition.
Iñaki’s father gives them a food quota, but he stopped visiting him when he was just 3 years old. For this reason, Mariela always took charge of his health and finding ways to strengthen her autonomy.
However, he considered that there is a lack of information about the condition and that in Neuquén there are few spaces to share experiences and advice to deal with each case, since there are many differences between each type of Asperger’s. “I stay informed and connected, but mostly with outside groups,” her mother explained.
