This guest post is by Melania Ullerick, a woman on the autism spectrum who is attending Colorado Mesa University. Melania 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 Autism Spectrum Disorder Lvl. 1., ADHD, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
The age I was diagnosed was 34, but my older documentation states suggested possible Autism Spectrum Disorder at age 4.
My adoptive parents didn’t want me to get that diagnosis due to the stigma that females were not diagnosed with autism. I did however get diagnosed with ADHD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I didn’t speak until I was 7 years old. I did vocally stem quite a bit, but it was not coherent.
Life was a struggle. I got sexually abused by someone and then got hospitalized. While I was there, they misdiagnosed me with Bipolar and then misdiagnosed again after the hospitalization as Schizophrenia because of my vocal stemming and what appeared to them as me talking to myself. My current diagnostician stated that those were misdiagnosed. My passionate nature to help others that were like me was evident.
I struggled with communication, getting upset over sensory overload, not knowing why I was upset, and I was scared of people getting physically too close to me. Also, I struggled with accidentally feeling everyone else’s feelings and energies, and wondered why. I am a super empathetic person, even to this day. I struggled with school because people kept talking down to me up until college.
I truly feel smart now, but growing up people demeaned me and treated me like I was weird or stupid. I kept getting mad at people but when that happened, I lost all forms of communication and became physically aggressive towards others, and engaged in self-injury behavior. I wish I had known that I had autism because it could have helped me in middle school and high school. I struggled so much during those times.
I struggled but I truly wanted to help people, so in my junior year of high school, I volunteered as a Special Education teacher’s aid. I did that up until I graduated and that was when I really started wondering if I had autism. I received my 1st-degree brown belt in American Kenpo Karate, and I am testing for my Black belt in March of 2022.
Another accomplishment would be raising my son and reducing his self-injury behavior and had him learn replacement behaviors that are safe. Also, I do not have self-injury behavior anymore, the last time I had one was when I was 19. Obtaining jobs are another huge accomplishment, and maintaining employment since 2015. Before that, it was hard for me to keep a job. When I was growing up, my adoptive parents didn’t think I was going to be able to live on my own. I am married and have a wonderful child, maintaining employment and going to college.
Just the fact that I got accepted to a university was a huge accomplishment. I felt so happy but confused. I thought that because of my grades in high school, I wouldn’t be able to get accepted into a university. I was so shocked.
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.
