This guest post is by Isaac Barlow, a young man on the autism spectrum who was accepted into the University of Boulder. Isaac 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.
Atypical. Not typical, irregular, abnormal. Me, myself, and I.
When did this all start? The first sign came early on. Three years old and thirsty. I needed that glass of sweet, sweet liquid sustenance. I cried for the fulfilling liquid, but never got any. I couldn’t comprehend that the reason I failed to get this water was because I couldn’t ask for it. I didn’t know how to show that I needed something, even things as basic as food and water. I was soon put into speech therapy, and, not long after, diagnosed with autism. But there were still other challenges I had to overcome on my own. These challenges (or fires, as I like to look at them) were where I obtained a positive mental attitude (PMA). Looking back, it’s how resiliency started to forge in me.
Resiliency is being broken down to your very core and out of sheer determination, building yourself back up stronger and heading back in. Life by its definition is resilient. Humanity has most certainly shown it’s resilience; we have not only survived but become the most powerful form of life on this planet. While I have my doubts about being the most powerful life form, I do know that I have shown resilience in my life.
Being atypical has certainly had challenges. I have been repeatedly singled out, teased, and taken advantage of. A hammer came down upon me each time, beginning to bring shape to my character. Due to my PMA, I took this repeated pounding, and never succumbed to it. I was forged like this, refined. Rather than someone who became insecure, scared, or bitter, other attributes came to define me. Determination. Integrity. Perseverance. Resilience was the metal that I became made of, and the hammer gave me a certain patience when dealing with adversity.
How has this affected the goals I have set for myself? In EVERY aspect, I would say. Resilience is a critical life skill that is needed to meet any goal, whether big or small. To reach my dream of becoming an aerospace engineer, a set of small goals needed to be reached with each math problem, each test, each class, each quarter, each semester…all leading to graduation that will open the door to a college education. What did it take to achieve success in each one of these small victories? Resilience. Having passion and perseverance and the ability respond in a way that helped me grow rather than set me back.
The hard work to meet my long term goal has just begun, but the foundation has been laid. I was a 4-year-old who couldn’t ask for a drink of water and became someone who is determined to become an aerospace engineer. Forging will continue throughout my life, there will always be difficulties to recover from, but I believe that the resilience that has been refined in me will help me achieve whatever I set my mind to.
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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.
