This guest post is by Marco Cruz, a young man on the autism spectrum. Marco 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.
Ever since I was little, I’ve faced many challenges, but the biggest obstacle I have ever dealt with is my Autism Spectrum and learning disability diagnosis. I am an only child so I struggled with comprehension throughout my life. I never really reached mile stones on time from what I know. I was pretty late at walking and talking. Today, I am who I am now because I stood up for myself and grew beyond others’ expectations of me. I have parents that believed in me and have ALWAYS supported me. I live by “I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me.”
I wanted to show the world that I could do the same things as the rest, but I didn’t always have this confidence and focus. Thankfully I had a family that would do pretend therapy and social skills play to help me in that area. I also had speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy as a child.
I never really realized I was different than other kids, until around 5th grade. I could not stand loud noise and would cry, I would have to wear noise reducers in elementary for fire drills or loud events up until the 5th grade. In high school It has been hard for me to make and keep friends even though I try to fit in. I was very literal in my younger years, I am better now that I am older thanks to my parents.
I was invited to join the county Special Olympics swim team one summer after 6 grade. I have to say that is one of the best things that happened to me. I found my passion! I went on to make the high school swim team, cross country team and track team, not only did I get to still compete in special Olympics, But I was competitive enough to join the high school teams! I even made Regional for swim and cross country in during my high school years. I practice swimming year round and run everyday to do my very best during competitions.
I have been in special education always. I have been very blessed at home and at school with great support. I hope and dream of going to college to become a veterinarian assistant or a coach assistant. I want to become an independent person and someday have a house and a car. I want to make my parents proud because they have always been there for me. They are my biggest fans in everything I do. I am blessed and loved by all of my family.
I wouldn’t be able to grow as much as I did without the inspiration of my parents, my coaches and my teachers. I feel confident enough to go to college to become an independent man. I know I’m not “disabled.” Because I am Able!
I know I will face challenges, but I have been taught to know that my disability does not define me. Marco defines Marco!
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.
