This guest post is by Joshua Bryson , a young man who is diagnosed with autism and a senior in High School in Greensboro, NC. He lives with his family and plans to attend Guilford Technical Community College in the Fall of 2024. Joshua loves drawing and animation. His hobbies are singing and dancing, family game night and spending time with his friend. Byson is applying for the Spring 2024 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.
I am the second born in my family, and I was always the quiet and reserved one, which has always been okay with me. After joining nursery school, I always felt different from other students; everyone thought I was shy. I always felt alienated from the other students and found it challenging to make new friends. Due to my quiet nature, some teachers often scolded me for being antisocial. This frequently led to the worsening of my social anxiety, as I was unaware of what was going on. I felt different from other students and mostly displayed characteristics associated with people who have Autism.
At the age of five, I was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. All along, the feeling of being different from the rest of the students was a tell-tale sign of an Autism spectrum condition. Apart from this, I displayed other definitive signs like high tempers, hatred for loud noises, and the need to follow a routine. Asperger’s syndrome is one of the five disorders that make up the Autism spectrum. Individuals with this type of autism spectrum disorder face challenges relating to people in social setups (Baron‐Cohen, S. 2009). They also tend to have a specific routine and exhibit repetitive behaviors. Visiting a mental health professional has helped my understanding of my thoughts and behaviors. My health professional also helped me understand my personality differences from people around me, which eased my feelings of being alienated from the rest. Symptoms of this spectrum are not as severe as compared to other forms of ASD. Health professionals throughout the years have helped me understand that Autism is a condition rather than an illness and affects individuals differently.
Growing up with ASD, I have faced numerous challenges despite being a high-functioning individual. There are instances in life where I feel I will not succeed, but luckily, I have faced numerous challenges and have prevailed. This has been a great motivation wherever I face new challenges relating to my condition. These challenges have not stopped me from seeing the brighter side of life and achieving so many of my set goals. Being reserved allows me to view life experiences from a different perspective. This has been beneficial in my decision-making, especially on important issues, as I have enough time to think through the situation and have a calm mind in tense situations. Some of the other milestones I have achieved recently include getting 3rd place in the North Carolina Autism Race, enrolling in Jiu-Jitsu lessons for personal defense, and making new friends.
To deal with boredom, I became involved with school clubs and community-based organizations. Most of my childhood was spent in solitude, which was out of choice since I felt uncomfortable around many people. I experienced difficulties making friends during this period. As I grew older, however, I realized the need to have friends who understood my condition. Joining community organizations and clubs at school allowed me to make new friends who respected and appreciated me without taking advantage of my condition (González-Herrera, et al., 2021). Friends I made in these social setups have been very helpful throughout my journey. However, making friends is a skill I am constantly working to improve on since I am usually suspicious of people’s attention even when they have good intentions. Through my support group, I am gradually improving in knowing people better and understanding their body language and other social cues.
As an individual who has grown up with Autism, I would encourage parents to enroll their children with Autism in group activities, such as youth programs in the community. This helps in the self-discovery process of children suffering from Autism conditions, thus making their lives easier and more bearable (Bradford, K. 2010). Access to resources in public schools is a challenge for these children. However, not all is lost since they can seek assistance from support groups. Through some of these groups, I have gained a deeper understanding of my condition. I am more aware of my strengths and weaknesses and how to communicate my needs to the public who are unaware of my condition and Autism in general. Growing up with Autism and the various experiences I have undergone have shaped the person I am today. I have learned to be more patient with people and kind to myself, which has been of great importance to my mental well-being.
Over the years, life had its difficulties due to my condition. I have had many times in my life where I have felt like a black sheep among society. I have triumphed over most of the challenges. Certainly, I will experience more challenges, but I am confident I will face the new challenges and come up with better strategies, as I have done in the past, to circumvent new challenges that may come up. My biggest hope is to have people with Autism come out and get the help they need, which will boost their confidence and help them achieve their life goals more easily.
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.
