This guest post is by Brooke Stephenson, a young woman on the autism spectrum who was diagnosed with ASD at age 12 and plans to attend Xavier University. Brooke is applying for the Spring 2023 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.
Something that makes me different from most students is the fact that I have autism. I was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder when I was twelve years old. For many reasons, I believe that my autism makes me strong and unique, and one of my personal goals is to change society’s perspective on those with Autism Spectrum Disorder by sharing my story.
Having Autism Spectrum Disorder has made me a stronger person because I have overcome countless obstacles and continue to persevere through the challenges of my daily life. Throughout my childhood, I struggled to make friends due to my social anxiety and inability to pick up on social cues. I have had times when I felt as though I could not control my thoughts and my actions because of my intrusive thoughts and stims. Autism Spectrum Disorder has also affected my daily life because there are certain sounds, textures, and colors that trigger my stims and intrusive thoughts. Nevertheless, with a year of occupational therapy and a lot of effort put into working on myself, I have learned how to communicate with others and feel more comfortable being social by studying social cues. I have also learned how to control my stims and no longer struggle with intrusive thoughts. Lastly, I faced my triggers head-on and worked until I was no longer affected by them. While I do still struggle with some anxiety and my stims will never fully disappear, I know that I am capable of doing everything that a neurotypical person can do, if not more. If I’m determined to accomplish something, I will.
I want to change the stigma that currently surrounds autism in society. I am tired of hearing other people my age–and even fully grown adults–compare autism to stupidity and weakness. This stereotypical idea of autism also leads society to believe that autism is something that is always seen on the outside. However, I myself am living proof that autism does not always present itself in obvious ways. Out of all of the people who know me, none of them can tell that I have autism unless I have told them personally. Having Autism Spectrum Disorder does not make me weird. Having this disorder means that I process my thoughts and emotions a little differently than others and I have a few “quirks.” I have the potential to be just as successful as neurotypical people. Those of us with autism can be very intelligent individuals and we are worth no less than those without autism. We are strong because of our autism and the world needs to see that.
My autism is not something that defines me. Autism Spectrum Disorder is just a part of me that makes me unique and gives me strength. For many years, I was embarrassed or afraid to share my diagnosis with others, but I have learned that it is nothing to be ashamed of. I am proud of everything I have accomplished despite these difficulties and will not stop sharing my story with others until society changes its perspective.
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, 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 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.
