This guest post is by Ramon Flowers, a young man who was diagnosed with autism at 4 and who currently attends Seton Hall University. Ramon 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.
Autism is a label, not an obstacle or a block. Learn to understand it, accept it and embrace any help you receive to help your fears surrounding it. There is no doubt that if you have a strong support system like I did such as family, friends, teachers and counselors that help you on this journey and you can lean on will make a difference. However, if you don’t experience this type of support at first, don’t be afraid to express yourself at some point and ask the questions that you need in order to build your own confidence. Pay attention to signs meaning, look around you to people who you feel are caring and make you feel comfortable. If you pay close attention, you will find out that there are many people who are interested in seeing you win!!! If you stay closed and scared you will limit yourself and may always be afraid to express yourself freely.
For many years even until this day, I would not say much and just talk to myself because I thought only I understood and understand me. Then after I learned from watching my mother and other family members that I can speak up for myself and verbalize what I want for other people understand me better.
I still have my days that I feel isolated and that people feel that I am too different to deal with, but that is okay. My mother constantly reminds me that I may be my best friend at times. When I feel that I’m in an uncomfortable situation, remove myself from it and put myself in a more comfortable place, whether that be by myself sometimes or more caring people.
She also reminds me often to not be afraid to take a stand and to let my voice be heard when necessary. Also, that I can express myself without being angry about it or too aggressive. I have had to learn to work on this part of my personality too. Presently, I knew to ask and have started taking anger management classes at my university just to calm my nerves at times when I feel that I may be getting upset. Learning to handle certain situations and knowing when you need to reach out for help is key because you will remind yourself how to handle certain situations in the future.
Another approach my mother has taught me is if you don’t understand something to not be afraid to ask for help! Therefore, I have no problem with meeting with professors for tutoring or other advice, asking my mother for assistance where I know she will step in and help, or reaching out to others that will help me as well. For instance, Seton Hall University has a Department for Special Services where I find myself often to ask them for assistance or advice.
In other words, there is no shame about being different after all, I think we all are. That is what makes everyone an individual. In the future I want to and hope that I can also help others with disabilities to be confident in their own skin and embrace their differences.
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.
