This guest post is by Veronica Nunez, a young woman on the autism spectrum who was diagnosed with autism at age 4 and has been accepted into Austin Community College. Veronica is applying for the Spring 2022 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, has been released as of March 29, 2022 on Amazon here for our community to enjoy featuring the stories of 100 autistic adults.
When I was very young, speech impairment, delayed motor skills, and sensory overloads were obstacles for me. Communicating my needs and leaving my house were enormous struggles. I established my family’s house as my “safe place”, and I learned to communicate my needs through different sounds rather than words to my mother. At around age 4, when I was diagnosed, I began going to occupational therapy, horse therapy, and speech therapies.
Growing up, I also took many things literally. Many things had to be exact, or it would be upsetting. For example, in our society, when people ask what time, it is, they usually round. If it’s 4:28, people say it’s 4:30, and so on. However, if I asked what time it was, I would want to know the precise time. Another example is that, if something wasn’t organized properly or in the right place, it was disturbing. This was another conundrum for me, if things weren’t exact, it was upsetting to me.
I was frequently bullied at school for my poor communication, underdeveloped motor skills, and for needing to leave class because of sensory overload. I had to attend after-school tutoring every day for one-on-one time with my teachers because focusing and communicating my needs during the school day were challenging for me. Because of sensory overloads, poor communication skills, tics, and ADHD, I struggled in school more than the average student. I failed STAAR tests, exams, and worksheets; I was in resource classes. It seemed that my teachers didn’t believe in me, and some told me I wouldn’t be able to master multiplication or even make it past junior high. They even attempted to change my set course to a limited diploma instead of a high school diploma.
Despite the lack of faith and acceptance by my teachers, I was determined to prove them wrong. The more I was bullied, excluded, and condemned to low standards, the more I was motivated to do well. My family supported me every step of the way. I studied in my free time and figured out creative ways for me to learn. With each year of therapy and countless hours of studying, my grades rose, and I continued to meet my goals.
At age seven, I was still attending my therapies, and my stepfather came into my life. That’s when my world changed dramatically. He is the type of man who believes that new experiences and exposures are the meaning of life. He decided such experiences would help me flourish into the strong, independent woman I strived to be. For example, he began by teaching me how to fix cars. My motor skills were still poor, but that wouldn’t stop me from learning. We repaired our cars for years, and at 14, I started a business as a car mechanic. The therapy I was given and the experiences my stepfather exposed me to throughout my childhood helped me tremendously.
In junior high, my grades were high enough to join the band and learn how to play the clarinet. To me, this was a stupendous accomplishment. I was still shunned by my peers for not being able to make eye contact and for being an introvert. This caused me anxiety, but I would not let that stand in the way of my ambitions. Whenever I had free time, I coded, video-gamed, or played chess. Chess has always been a hobby of mine, and at age 13, I won a chess competition with the prize of playing against a national Grandmaster. Give or take, he beat me in 3 moves, but it was still an honor to play against a Grandmaster. I’ve always taken pleasure in doing anything that requires problem-solving or critical thinking.
By the time I entered high school, I discontinued my therapies because my focus and sensory challenges had improved enough to excel in my classes. I began attending James Bowie High School, where I joined a highly competitive sport known as Color Guard, a team associated with the school band. Although my motor skills had improved tremendously, some things were still a struggle. In Color Guard, it was challenging to keep up with my team because of all the multitasking. My coach was discouraged by my performance and suggested I leave the team. Instead, I decided that practicing more and improving my motor skills was the best solution. Rehearsing an average of 25 hours a week with my team and 5 on my own time left the rest of the week for my studies.
Unfortunately, due to being so busy with Color Guard and my studies, I had to disband my car mechanic business to maintain focus. By the time I was a sophomore, I had surpassed the skills of the juniors and seniors. Through hard work and persistence, I was one of the best on the team. Being in Color Guard changed me as a person. My motor skills improved; I became less introverted, and my confidence grew. In addition, my focus skyrocketed, and everything suddenly became easier. I graduated high school in May 2021 with a GPA of 3.3, and I’ve committed myself to a career in molecular pathology.
With the support of my mother, stepfather, therapists, and my unwavering determination for over a decade, I’ve grown into a strong, independent woman who’s come to embrace the gift of being autistic. I still have my fair share of conflicts, but they make me who I am, and many have become strengths rather than weaknesses. For example, as the years passed, preciseness became less of a struggle and more of a strength. Now it’s used to enhance my organizational skills. In the end, being autistic has been one of the greatest gifts I could have asked for in my lifetime. I’ve learned that struggles are a part of life, and overcoming such strife is how a person grows.
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 that 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, has been released as of 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.
