 
Brian Rafferty at his bookshop in Edinburgh  Photo: DEREK BLAIR
Brian Rafferty has Asperger’s syndrome, but it doesn’t stop him running a bookshop. By Judith Woods
By Judith Woods
Published: 7:00AM BST 13 Jul 2009
WHEN customers step into the Broughton Street Book Shop in Edinburgh, a high-ceilinged, wood-panelled room enticingly crammed with shelves of second-hand books, the rather gangly young man behind the counter hands them a pamphlet, without making eye contact.
The leaflet explains that his name is Brian Rafferty, he is the shop’s proprietor and he suffers from both Asperger’s syndrome – a form of autism – and cerebral palsy.
“With the help of my family and friends I have opened this second-hand bookshop and intend to support myself, and give a purpose to my life,” it reads. “I don’t think I am unemployable.”
But it was Brian’s apparent unemployability that led his parents to take the extraordinary step of leasing the shop, appealing online for book donations – they received thousands of volumes – and setting their son up in business. After sending out 70 CVs and applications for IT jobs, inputting data or stock control last year, the 21-year-old failed to get a single interview.
Read Full Article:Â http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/5795952/Who-says-Aspergers-sufferers-are-unemployable.html
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