This guest post is by Courtney Stump, a young woman on the autism spectrum who was accepted into Sinclair Community College. Courtney is applying for the Spring 2022 Making a Difference Autism Scholarship via the nonprofit KFM Making a Difference started by me, Kerry Magro. I was nonverbal till 2.5 and diagnosed with autism at 4 and you can read more about my organization here.
I hope you can support my nonprofit like I’m trying to support these students with scholarship aid for college. Learn more on how you can help our cause with a small donation (just asking for $3 today, equal to your daily cup of coffee) here.
I have worshiped someone very close to me. I’ve worshiped the ground she’s walked on for as long as I can remember. At the time I had no idea that every day she was chasing something inevitably deadly. Addiction is a disease and it doesn’t discriminate.
Because of these challenges this person had I never went to the doctor and I wasn’t diagnosed with autism until I was almost a legal adult. Level 2 autism wasn’t diagnosed until 18 because no one really paid attention. I was just cute and quirky to everyone. Until my diagnosis I was being squashed into a mold I couldn’t fit. Once one person picked it up it seemed to be so obvious to everyone else. After being diagnosed I have been opened up to so many recourses and so many people just like me – which is something I’ve dreamed of forever.
I want to use the rest of my life to encourage and inspire others. I am majoring in addiction services in hopes to loosen the criminal stigma around drug use. I believe that most addicts end up dead or in jail because of the stigma that they will. If we were more willing to help then struggling addicts would be more willing to accept help. Nobody wants to be addicted, but the drugs have no mercy. They latch onto your soul and walk you around every day like a puppet on strings. I know she didn’t mean all the things she said, and most of the things she did. She’s better now. I want to give other people the people they care about back. I want to give others similiar to me of addicts a voice. I want to give them proper help and attention. I know that if I didn’t have this background, I wouldn’t want this job. You don’t know how common and scary it is until you’re in it.
Upon receiving my diagnosis I sat in shock. All the times I thought I was crazy were flashing so fast before my eyes. I laughed and I cried in disbelief that there was a word for it. There’s a word for the way I function, there’s an explanation and a reason too. I also don’t think that is something you can understand unless you’re part of it. I offer a special perspective to this world because of my experiences. I am proud of who I am and I know that I am an important part of this world. I want to be an important part of as many worlds as I can because everyone deserves support. Everyone deserves sobriety.
Follow my journey on Facebook, my Facebook Fan Page, Tiktok, Youtube & Instagram,
My name is Kerry Magro, a professional speaker and best-selling author who is also on the autism spectrum that started the nonprofit KFM Making a Difference in 2011 to help students with autism receive scholarship aid to pursue a post-secondary education. Help support me so I can continue to help students with autism go to college by making a tax-deductible donation to our nonprofit here.
