This guest post is by Isabela Fungcharoen-Spina, a young woman on the autism spectrum who was diagnosed with Autism at age 3 and has been accepted into the Arts Institute of Tampa. Isabela 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 Isabela Fungcharoen-Spina. I am nineteen years old and I live in Jacksonville, Florida. I am a senior in high school, about to graduate and go to college. I was diagnosed with autism when I was three – I don’t remember that at all. When I was eighteen, my mom told me more about it.
As I was growing up on the autism spectrum, I always got angry and lost my temper against anyone who irritated me, disagreed with me, and argued with me. When I get angry and sensitive, it’s difficult to listen because I feel very emotional. So, it’s better if I stop the conversation and move away from whatever is upsetting me.
Sometimes, I get shaky or jittery and I think it happens when I have a lot of sugar or caffeine. When I feel upset, I feel more upset than usual. So, I changed the way I eat, in order for me to feel better. For example, every morning, I make my smoothie with healthy ingredients that boost my metabolism, and then I don’t feel nervous or jittery during the day. This is why I have to eat fewer sugars, more fruits and veggies, and healthy dishes. I also have to relax by doing deep breathing, meditation, yoga, and exercise.
I am also very jumpy, at times. The reason why I get jumpy is that I get scared of things easily. I always hate getting scared of things since I know that my mind freaks me out when I think that there is something unreal that I think is real. That’s why I have to stop watching horror, don’t think of anything scary, and try to get over my fears. If I relax, then I will not get scared and jumpy.
Sometimes, when I have a conversation with someone, I don’t pay attention because I think of the things that make me laugh. This bothers me since I’m not able to pay attention and laugh for no reason at all. I think that the main reason for this situation is watching too many cartoons or thinking of a time that always makes me laugh. This gives me a bad case of the giggles. I don’t think I have a reason to laugh while having a conversation, but I just get the giggles out and see when I’m ready to listen to a conversation. I’m getting better with that, but I have to get in the habit of not being on my phone longer. If I have less time on the phone, I will be less distracted. If I pay attention, I will not laugh for no reason.
As I have been growing up on this autism spectrum, I have learned a lot of tools from school and my family about how to relax and calm myself down. When I was in middle school, I had a few classes that had to do with calming myself down and relieving my stress and anxiety. I learned a lot from my teachers and they helped me with what to do when you are stressed and angry. The types of calming tools that I learned are pretzel hug, deep breathing, positive self-talk, being in a calm place, and listening to relaxing music. Those tools always help me with my anger issues, release anxiety, be calm, and be positive.
At home, my mom also taught me a deep breathing exercise called meditation and a relaxing stretch called yoga. Those types of exercises always help me relax and be calm, whether I start the day or end the day before I go to sleep. I always have to meditate every morning before I start the day for my work and school days, in order to have a happy, relaxing day.
Overall, using these kinds of relaxing tools can help those who were diagnosed with autism or ADHD. In fact, my school is the right school where teachers can help students relax their minds, be positive, and release their anxiety. I would also recommend they meditate every morning, do some deep breathing exercises, and do anything else that can help them stay calm, positive, and relaxed. Always be kind, love your life, be calm, and have motivation when you grow within.
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 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, will be 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.
