This guest post is by Riley Moffat, a young woman on the autism spectrum who was diagnosed with PDD-NOS at age 4 and has been accepted into Houghton College Greatbatch School of Music. Riley 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 on March 29, 2022 on Amazon here for our community to enjoy featuring the stories of 100 autistic adults.
I’m usually a silent girl. I always have been. I got diagnosed with PDD-NOS at 4 years of age when I was in pre-K head start. I played around kids my age, but not with them because I was in my own little world. I had parrot talk back then, although I didn’t talk much and messed up my pronouns. I was skilled at puzzles and very organized, but I was also a picky eater. I also have a good memory, because back then, I repeated dialogues, even the whole things, from comedy acts on TV. I still remember many things that have happened in my past.
My ADHD is also associated with my autism because I struggle to pay attention and I like to move around. When I had to answer questions for my test, let’s say they were jumbled-up responses. I had an IQ that was low, meaning my borderline is impaired. I don’t know what my IQ is now, but I may check. I am a very curious girl.
I also repeated questions and phrases that were said to me. That reminds me of my driver’s test, when I talked to myself about what to do, where to go because I wanted to pass so badly and not screw up. That’s what got me a lower score on my driver’s test; in the ’80s, though I still passed.
I was unpopular back then. Many kids would stay away from me. I would not pay attention in head start, and I had to be put back on the right track by the teachers. I speak in the third person, and, as my pre-K teacher said, I talked to people who weren’t there. I had imaginary friends back then. I also liked to chew on my shirt sleeves, another thing I don’t do anymore.
Like not chewing on clothes, I have changed a lot during my journey with PDD-NOS. I don’t have parrot talk anymore, and I can talk well. When I eat, I’m not as picky as before. My answers to questions are neater than they had been back then. I like rest time now because I like to go to sleep early at times when I have nothing to do. Either the kids, now teenagers, like to hang around me to chat or pick on me, like a boy in my grade calling me Katie. Ugh! When will he learn that’s not me?! There are a couple of young adults that are not fond of me. But they are not that wise. They are not seeing the potential I have.
This is about the details of my autistic life. It doesn’t define who I am, and I don’t think about it a whole lot. I have a great future ahead of me, and I can’t wait to see where I end up.
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.
