This guest post is by Abigail Bailey, a young woman on the autism spectrum who was diagnosed with autism at the age of 9 and has been accepted into Bryant and Stratton College. Abigail 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. Autistics on Autism: Stories You Need to Hear About What Helped Them While Growing Up and Pursuing Their Dreams, our nonprofit’s new book, was released on March 29, 2022, on Amazon here for our community to enjoy featuring the stories of 100 autistic adults.
My name is Abigail (Abby) Bailey and I am 19 years old. I was diagnosed with autism at age nine (9) and have overcome many obstacles along the way. My motto was if I believed I could do it, I would and I am proud to say, I did!
My achievements included:
· L Award * in 9th and 10th grade (11th grade if we were not out of school due to COVID)
· 9th Grade – 1st and 3rd Quarter Honor Roll and 4th Quarter High Honor Roll
· 10th Grade – 1st, 2nd 3rd and 4th Quarter High Honor Roll
· 10th Grade – Drama Club Award for Best in Ensemble
· 11th Grade – 1st and 4th Quarter High Honor Roll and 3rd Quarter Honor Roll
· 11th Grade – Drama Club Award from Best Featured Roll
· 12th Grade – 1st and 3rd Quarter High Honor Roll, 2nd Quarter Honor Roll
L Award – awarded to Lansingburgh High School Students who excel in classes and achieve Honor Roll at least 3 quarters of the school year.
I successfully graduated with a Regents diploma in 2021 from Lansingburgh High School, Summa Cum Laude. I had some amazing teachers who were outstanding mentors and truly made an impact on my education and my life. In grade school, I enjoyed singing and acting and I was very lucky to have been a part of an amazing program at my school. Those programs included school choir, show choir and drama club that I had been a part of since the 4th grade through my Senior year. The last 2 years were a challenge due to COVID but we made the best of it and had an amazing last year as Seniors!
In addition to my Highschool graduation in June of 2021, I also graduated as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) from the Questar program. I am now certified in CPR as well as a nursing assistant. I always thought about being a Nurse but these classes and the experiences have made me fall in love with the Nursing field. I had the opportunity to participate in clinical rotations working directly with the residents and obtaining college credits prior to graduation. During the program I learned several skills to help me improve my readiness as a CNA. I actively observed patients to be able to assist the Nurses in daily treatments and collect vital signs. I follow agency policies regarding safety and proper procedures. After graduation, I was able to continue working with these same residents as I was hired by the facility in June of 2021.
After High school, I began working at Van Rensselaer Manor in the dietary department delivering proper meals to residents’ on each unit. After a few months in dietary, I applied for a Certified Nursing Assistant’s position and began the position at the end of December of 2021. In addition to the work experience I have obtained, I have now completed 2 semesters at Bryant and Stratton College in the Medical Assisting program and cannot wait to further my education and continue in this field.
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. I started the nonprofit KFM Making a Difference in 2011 to help students with autism receive scholarship aid to pursue 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.
Autistics on Autism: Stories You Need to Hear About What Helped Them While Growing Up and Pursuing Their Dreams was released on March 29, 2022 on Amazon here for our community to enjoy featuring the stories of 100 autistic adults. 100% of the proceeds from this book will go back to our nonprofit to support initiatives like our autism scholarship program. In addition, this autistic adult’s essay you just read will be featured in a future volume of this book as we plan on making this into a series of books on autistic adults.
