Eden Cannon is loving life.
His smile is huge. His enthusiasm is there for everyone to see.
The 26-year-old Canberra man, who has Down syndrome and is non-verbal, has his dream job, washing cars two days a week at Audi Centre Canberra.
He is a paid employee like everyone else.
"I think, for him, it means he's part of a team," mum Jeanine said.
"They have a lot of banter and that and he knows that's he's welcomed and appreciated."
With workmates in the service department, Dave McCreath and Jimmy Alchin, he makes sure every car is sparkling clean.
Dave says Eden is a great worker.
"He's very diligent," Dave said.
"I try to make him have longer lunch breaks when we're not too busy but he always wants to come back on time."
Eden loves everything about cars.
He carries a toy car in his pocket at all times, a different Hot Wheels for each day.
He loves to see number plates with an 'E' or '26' on them. E for Eden and 26 for his age.
Eden's support workers Elizabeth Townsend and Ian Clark, from Learning Skills for Life, says he works at Audi 9am to 1.30pm two days a week, while doing a separate program for the other days.
"He loves it," Ian said. "I always put the Cars soundtrack on when I pick him up for work."
"And it gives him a sense of purpose," Elizabeth said.
"It gets him involved with the community, working with everyone at Audi."
Eden recently celebrated his five-year work anniversary, receiving an award from Audi. While he has technically worked at Audi for seven years, the first two years were on a work program and the last five as a fully-fledged employee.
"Eden is a valued and well-loved member of our team, always bringing a positive attitude and strong work ethic to everything he does," service manager Liam Hartin said.
"His dedication, reliability and attention to detail have made a real impact over the past five years, and we're grateful to have him as part of the Audi Centre Canberra family."
Elizabeth said Audi had been great to Eden.
"It has been beautiful," she said.
"He does look forward to coming. It's such a big part of his week. He has his routine printed and he'll always double-check it to make sure he's coming to Audi."
Eden lives with parents Jeanine and Mick in Gordon. He likes to save his pay.
"Perhaps in years to come that money could be invested in some kind of accommodation for him," Jeanine said.
Thursdays at Audi are always a big hit, because Eden will get KFC with his workmates.
It's a nice treat after vacuuming, washing and polishing the cars.
And Eden never forgets a car.
"He knows everyone's car by its number plate, as well as what it looks like," Ian said.
"If we're driving around in the traffic, he'll spot us before anyone does."
