This guest post is by Briana Leggett, a young woman with autism who plans to attend the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Briana 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.
Hello, my name is Briana Leggett I am 19 and excited to let you know how I got to where I am today. When I was in elementary school the thought of making it became a question, having to repeat twice therapy after therapy and being pulled out to the special school to get caught up on multiplication in third grade along with dyslexia diagnosis not being able to spell left me wondering what is in it for my future. Throughout my life I have been involved in a lot of sports and attended Girl Scouts, and entrepreneur camps, also love art and last year I went to girl state in high school being given the offer to join the honor society was shocking but rewarding at the same time. When I came to Memphis Rise Academy I was on a 3rd-grade level. In my first year, I made grade level in English 8th and 2nd-year grade level in math 9th. The rest blossomed from here. In my 10th grade year, I was more confident and with the support from everyone I started to do honors then I realized despite my struggles I am amazing and rocking it. Starting 11th anxiety of two years of high school left stepping out into the world I started working I was signed up for all honors and found out I had autism. I had to start attending therapy again inside I’m like how am I going to maintain this crossed my mind? Well, it’s possible showing me how strong I am. Then when they brought to my attention that I maintained the honor roll it was shocking and astonishing. I was pushing thru not knowing how far I have come in my life reminded me it’s possible.
Later on, I had a life-changing event in my life due to the pandemic the house we lived in for 10 years was bought by another property company leaving us homeless but on the bright side, my ambition kicked in to still rose. It opened up my realization to why it’s important to set goals and keep raising the bar whatever it takes I have always had compliments over the years “I deserve an A+ for effort” and “I stand out for success” questioning myself along the way because I’m knowledgeable but when it comes to testing I struggle it’s like my memory goes blank as I do have memory issues with dyslexia but somehow I keep pushing through my strengths will meet deficits in hopes to strengthen helping to continue to succeed.
I come from a single-mother home with two siblings who have disabilities that along its self have put obstacles in my life but I have learned it’s all about how much you want something and learning to turn it into a strength of life balance. I have moments of feeling powerless and unintelligent but it’s a part of life challenges that come with insecurities. Reaching out for support and reminding myself of positive moments that I am successful and capable and that no matter what you are born with or your disability there is always a way to execute to fulfill your dreams. My mom is my rock she has been my advocate without her reminding me and encouraging me that there is always a way around everything. Never give up on me and try harder which results have become a reality I have despite the struggles I have came so far words can’t explain still to this day I say finding the right support person is key. No matter how old I am my mom will be there to walk my journey good or bad never giving up and pushing me has made me who I am today. It will be on me to transition into a Lady gain, confidence, find my niche, and being the leader I have become and will be going forward.
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.
