This guest post is by Kaleb Carter, a young man on the autism spectrum who is currently attending Nicholls State University. Kaleb is applying for the Spring 2021 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.
I hope you can support my nonprofit like I’m trying to support these students with scholarship aid for college. Learn more on how you can help our cause with a small donation (just asking for $3 today, equal to your daily cup of coffee) here.
Before I begin to talk about my journey with autism, I like to thank the people that got me this far in life with their support and love. Thank you, Mom and Dad. To start, being autistic for me was not as bad or good as people might think. My childhood was somewhat normal. It had its ups and downs but I was always a good kid. There were times I listened to my parents but there were times I would be disrespectful to them. Whenever I got into an argument with my parents or I never got my way, I would get excited or get angry because they would not let me do things my way. I would just yell out and say the most hurtful things. This would hurt their feeling, and I would later regret it. The reason I do I said those things is that I do not know how to express my emotions which makes me lash out. I always have trouble communicating with others, especially my peers.
Communicating with other people has been the main issue because I do not know what to say. In middle school, I would be alone and talk to myself, which made my parents concerned, and my peers would not talk to me. To help with my communication skills, they would set up appointments with speech therapists and ask me if I would put an effort to do new things and make new friends. They asked me if I made any friends every day because they were worried that I was becoming a loner. Sometimes I would be a loner. I would say that I was making friends so they would not get worried. I do regret not making friends in middle school or high school. I thought high school would be different, but mostly I just talked to myself and did not make any friends. That is why college is going to be different.
My parents discovered that I was diagnosed with autism at the age of 2 in 2002. What mattered was how they were going to treat me. They did the best way possible, by taking me to group therapy and helping me make new friends. I knew I had to participate but that was based on me. I did participate in most group activities which were fun.
In the beginning, my parents did not even know how to handle a kid with autism. How could they, they had never had anyone in their family diagnosed with autism? My dad handles my autism pretty well with hard discipline, while my mom would describe every situation to me because I have a hard time understanding her. As I said earlier, I had meltdowns when I was younger because I could not communicate well with others. As I got older, I learned to control myself and improve my communication skills. My family and other peers have helped with my communication issues.
So far autism has never been a barrier for me reaching into adulthood because being autistic has separated me from my peers. Sometimes I do miss routines. There were times I had to adjust to new things while I was growing up. I was walking and pacing by myself when I was younger. I was always shy when meeting new people. I would bury myself in my phone. Whenever I or my parents would be at a social gathering I would just wander around and talk to myself. My parents wondered if I was going to be a loner for the rest of my life, that is why they help with my autism even when it was hard.
Today, I am currently a student at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana. It is a good school where I can make a fresh start and they have a program called the Bridge to Independence. It is a program that helps students with disabilities go through college. I got accepted into the Bridge program and it has been great so far. We do a ton of activities together, like going to football games, and do social skills sessions. I had to get accepted in Nicholls first but I accomplished that with my 3.2 GPA and good study habits. The bridge has helped me with my school assignments, keeps me organized, does new things, and meets new people.
I am a young man now and so far I am exploring life as it is. Nicholls has offered a wide range of opportunities to explore. I do not know what I want to do with my future but I have some ideas. I have been fascinated by a lot of things like English, creativity, arts, and medicine. During high school, I joined the Allied Health program. It was a nursing program for students who want to work careers in medicine. I thought I could practice medicine for a time. I was fascinated by medicine at first and may study radiology because it is an associate degree. But my dad asked if that is a career that I want to do. I told him I do not know.
Even though I do not know what career path to take, I still have time. Nowadays, my communication skills and decision-making are getting better. There are still a few things I still struggle with like the fear of driving my car. I could not have gotten this far without the help of teachers, therapists, and my family helped me become the man I am today. Without them, I would not who I am today. To this day, my parents still ask me to make an effort to make new friends. I am reconnecting with my Christian faith and signing up for honors to meet new people. It will be a long road ahead, but I have overcome so much and become more resilient.
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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 a 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.
