This guest post is by Zander Feist, a young man who was diagnosed with autism at 4 and who has been accepted to Bloomsburg University for Theatre. Zander 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.
It was William Shakespeare who once eloquently wrote “All the World’s a Stage”. In context, this was written as a monologue in Act 2, Scene 7 of the play “As You Like It”. Definitely not his best work in my humble opinion, but this quote is nevertheless a pertinent one. We are all actors on a great stage, playing our comedies and tragedies for all to witness. I can assure you that being on the spectrum is surely a way to spice up the dramatics in any given show of any one person’s life. However, it is through our experiences and our hardships we fight and slay the negatives and from there, be in pursuit of the fruits of our labors. In other words, one must face dramatic tragedies before emerging into a light hearted comedy. It was through acting and the arts I emerged victorious from what I thought was a debilitating diagnosis. Today, I wish to share my experiences and hopefully inspire others to charge into what they wish to do, whatever that might be. After all, we only live through a One Act performance. With all the talent out there, I would hate to see it not put to good use.
I was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at the ripe age of four. While overcoming the hardships of my conditions was a very personal endeavor, as I presume it is for all, it was through the help of the people in my life that I have been able to strive as well as I am able to. My parents have always been resourceful and genius in more ways than one, and it was through them I was blessed with a positive learning environment in which I was then able to develop properly. This is, I feel, a commonly overlooked aspect in the treatment of the more negative effects of the spectrum, that of the learning environment of the individual. As a duck may learn to swim, a child should too should have the right of proper education. I feel as though every person has a craft in which they are destined to master. As it happens, mine is that of the performing arts.
It was through this environment I have conquered all the odds. While I remain an apprentice to my trade, I am still bound to it through love and passion, alongside the many other factors to keep me acting. If I was to give anyone any advice, it would be to find your people, your passions and your place. When you have all three P’s, I could guarantee your satisfaction. The theatrical arts became just those things for me. It was there I found my people. These people included family, friends, mentors, partners and more, all who have played instrumental roles in my personal developments. I found my passion, that of being a Triple Threat. For the uninformed, a triple threat actor is an actor who could act, sing and dance. I work daily to sharpen my skills and my life has become a valiant pursuit to reach the unreachable stars above. Finally, I found my place. The stage for my stage if you will. While I live to play the parts of broken villains, comedic rascals and valiant heroes, I cannot deny the greatest part I have played was the boy who surpassed the diagnosis given to him. All because he followed his dreams.
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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.
