This guest post is by Ashten Nickerson, a young man on the autism spectrum who was diagnosed with ASD at age 9 and plans to attend the University of Oklahama. Ashten 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.
I did not speak until the age of four, but shortly thereafter shared that I wanted to be a doctor. My academic path has been challenging, due to my autism. I have had to overcome many challenges. Regardless, I have persevered!
My first memory of having the career goal of one day being a physician goes back to kindergarten. I was given a hospital tour, at my request, when I was in the first grade. I was given the following books for Christmas and my birthday that year: The Circulatory Story, The Quest to Digest, The Skeleton Inside You, and several others. Later, in middle school, I received the following books: The Wonders in the Human Body, The Visual Elements: Every Known Atom in the Universe, and Molecules: Elements/Architecture of Everything. In biomed, I read the Henrietta Lacks book, which tells the history of her tumor cells. This woman’s cells have been used for decades in research labs worldwide. Reading about what goes on inside the human body is very interesting to me! A couple of other fascinating books I ran across and purchased at the book fair are How They Croaked and How They Choked. Both are historical accounts of famous individuals who died in horrible ways. The Bloody History Series is also a wealth of information on health and disease.
School is my main focus. I did play piano and tennis for a few years, but classes got more demanding, so I had less free time. I took Latin (to help with medical terminology) and Spanish, so that I can maybe help non-English speaking patients someday. I was honored to be accepted to a prestigious Project Lead The Way two year biomed program for my Junior, and Senior Year. The things I got to study, and the labs I was exposed to, were amazing! Unfortunately, the instructor refused to follow my 504 Accommodation plan, so the stress became unnecessarily unbearable. The instructor was extremely disorganized and refused to sign my daily task agenda. It was constant chaos trying to figure out what to do each day to stay on top of all the continually changing demands and deadlines. Typically, there was a chapter test to study for, an individual project, a group presentation, and a lab quiz constantly in the works. My signed agenda is my crutch for battling autism. Refusing this accommodation was like taking away someone’s glasses, hearing aid, or wheelchair. I decided, for my mental health, to drop the class at the end of January second semester. This was the hardest decision I have ever made. It was gut-wrenching and heartbreaking. My mother filed a complaint with the Civil Rights Office. I’m proud to say I did make A’s in both of the biomed program classes (Anatomy/Physiology and Biomed Lab). The biomed instructor was not the first teacher to refuse to acknowledge my diagnosis and need for accommodation, due to my executive functioning deficits. There were other teacher issues through the years. I can do the work if I know exactly what is expected. I’m not good with hints, inferencing, and disorganization. Because school has been my biggest focus, getting accepted to the biomed program was my proudest moment. Therefore, leaving biomed was my lowest point. I did get put in a men’s choir class in place of one of the biomed hours, and really enjoyed singing with a choir again. I have also been able to enroll in a different anatomy class and an AP chemistry class, both of which have been great experiences. I will always find a way to move toward my goal.
I don’t have many friends, so I am a target for bullying. Most of the bullying I experienced was in middle school, and my first year in high school. I remember kids throwing trash at me in class, saying mean things, shoving a lunch table into my chest. One day, a kid hit me hard in the middle of the back. We both had detention for three days, because I also grabbed him by the shoulders. He had bullied me for weeks. After the hitting and detention incident, my parents put me in a private Christian school. I remained there for the rest of 7th and 8th grade. The students were much kinder, but the teachers refused to follow my 504 plan. I figured I could stay and pay money for the private school and be bullied by the teachers, or return to public school and be bullied by the students for free. I returned to public school. I was punched in the head one day in science class. Fortunately, that kid was suspended and I was not. In Spanish class, I was smacked in the back of the head for no reason. I also had a student who pestered me repeatedly in my English class. The bathrooms were unsupervised areas (I had vape smoke blown in my face). Eventually, I was given permission to use the teacher’s restrooms. Other than that, no major issues since 9th grade, just small things now and then.
I plan to get an associates degree in Anesthesia Technology. This will allow me to get a job while I work on my bachelors degree (chemistry or biology). I hope to apply to medical school (anesthesia, pathology or neurology). I have volunteered two summers at a hospital, worked two seasons on the University of Oklahoma stretcher team for home football games (service for fans who may need medical attention during games), worked two summers as a lifeguard, attended OU medical camps two summers, and am a two year member of University of Oklahoma’s Club Scrub. I have also spent Fridays (two summers) observing with an oral surgeon. I am proud of maintaining a 3.97 GPA. I am super excited about, and committed to, my academic and career pursuits within the healthcare field. I promise that if you choose me for your scholarship, I will give my personal best in everything I do!
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.
