This guest post is by Gabriel Levinson, a young man with autism who plans to attend Ohio University. Gabriel 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.
The year is 2011 and I am a first grade student in Mrs. Russell’s class. I can’t seem to sit still. Why am I not paying attention? Why do my movements and sounds keep coming out of my body? This would be the start of my journey to learning about ADHD, Anxiety, Tourette Syndrome and eventually high functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD. This amazing teacher was the first person to help my family and I start the process of diagnosis and eventually receiving extra help from my school.
The ADHD was obvious. I was your poster child for hyperactivity! I was constantly moving and having a hard time paying attention in all facets of my day, whether at home or at school. My parents tell me that when I would play with Legos or be very involved in an activity, I would make the “E” sound. I would go EEEEEE, EEEEEE, EEEEEE constantly. Then in 2013 I started having little twitches in my eyes and neck, which then turned into some loud noises. It just came out of nowhere and I couldn’t control it. What is wrong with me? Over the next few months my tics would constantly be changing and my noises would go from clearing my throat to high pitch squeals. I finally saw a neurologist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and received my Tourette Syndrome diagnosis. The doctor gave me a “business card” so that I could explain it to people that asked. It said, “I have Tourette Syndrome – a medical condition. It causes me to make loud sounds, have twitches and say things I don’t mean. I can’t help it any more than you can stop a sneeze or cough. I’m sorry if it bothers you – it bothers me more”. My mom also had a book that would be read to all the students in my class every year in elementary school.
My mom keeps an image saved in her phone that shows an iceberg. It gives a depiction of Tourette Syndrome. What you see above the surface are the vocal and motor tics, but what you don’t see is under the water. Those things are ADHD, handwriting difficulty, sensory issues, depression, anxiety, and many more. I have all of the ones that I mentioned. Anxiety is one side affect that has been a huge part of my life, and always will be, but I am learning to try and handle situations as they come.
As I progressed through middle school, it was clear that there was still something different about me. Not in a bad way, just different. I wasn’t the best at making eye contact during a conversation, and although I understand humor, I didn’t always find things funny like other people. Finally, it was suggested that we test for Autism Spectrum Disorder, and my official diagnosis came my freshman year of high school. I am considered “high functioning”, although I do not like that term. I am just me.
With all my diagnoses, I have learned not be ashamed by any of them.
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.
