When you’re having a bad day, one smile or friendly greeting can help boost your spirits.
That seems to be the mission of Josh Levinson each time he packs up his snack cart and gets ready to roll.
"He greets people with such enthusiasm even if he hasn’t seen them in a long time...I love that about him," said Kim Tosolt, Josh's job coach.
Josh operates his own snack push cart business at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak--and with every step is a wave, a song, a smile, a joke.
"Show me the money honey," sang Josh as he made change for one of the hospital's staff members.
Josh is somewhat of a celebrity in the Beaumont community.
"You see in the hospital that there isn’t anyone who doesn’t know him. It’s sort of really nice to watch him walk around and people just say hi to him," said Josh's father and Beaumont pediatrician Dr. Marty Levinson.
Watching Josh roll through the hallways of the hospital, it's easy to see that he is in his element, but it took time before the happy 33-year-old found his dream job.
Josh has Williams Syndrome. It's a developmental disorder that affects many systems of the body—and can lead to developmental impairment.
"It is associated with a specific set physical features, behavioral features, heart problems and a lot of things go along with it. The nice thing about it, you saw his personality and that’s a classic –it’s Josh, but it’s also a Williams Syndrome personality…friendly, outgoing," said Dr. Levinson.
When the post high school programs weren't making the cut, Josh and his father came up with Josh's Noshes, his snack cart business.
"He has the pride that this is his business, he has work to do outside of the hospital, he goes and buys things, we put them in the computer….so it’s really brought a lot of things to him," said Dr. Levinson .
Not only is Josh a beaming ray of positivity, he's also an inspiration to many.
"I think he can be looked at as a role model. As a pediatrician, I deal with many families with kids with various disabilities and, of course, when your kids are young, the parents look in the future and say, 'what does the future have for my child?' and I think it’s just an example that if you think out of the box and you keep plugging away, the community and the services available to you hopefully will find a way. Everyone has a role here on this planet, I think we’re all here for some purpose and Josh’s purpose seems to be to make people feel good because he does it," said Dr. Levinson.
To learn more about Williams Syndrome, visit the Williams Syndrome Association's website: http://www.williams-syndrome.org/
