This guest post is by Samuel Benitez a young man who is diagnosed with autism and plans to attend College of DuPage and looking to transfer to North Central College to finish up his degree in Accounting. Benitez 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.
“He’s crying again. If Sam isn’t crying, he is running, and if he isn’t running, he is crying”. William said to my third-grade class. This is something that has been said about me since the day I entered kindergarten. I have always been “different”. I didn’t look any different from the kids in my class, I didn’t dress any different, so why did I behave differently? This was one of the hardest concepts for me to process: Understanding that I WAS different even though I couldn’t see the difference.
Sometimes Autism is not a physical challenge, but a mental challenge that you can’t see. For me it was an impenetrable barrier that excluded me from the outside world. Stuck in a world where the kids expected me to be “normal” because I looked “normal” but I acted “abnormal”. Being in a school where I was in the special class or working at the special table and taking the special test that was always different from the rest of my classmates.
Throughout my early childhood, I had severe social and learning challenges that prevented me from excelling at school, establishing core friendships, and participating in athletic activities. It was in fifth grade that I asked myself if I would always be “less than” or “different”? Is this what my entire life was going to be like, feeling like an outsider to the rest of the world? Would I ever find a friend who would listen to me? It was at that defining moment that I knew that I had to choose to break out of the confines of my autism and be an overcomer.
Although school was very difficult for me, I knew that I needed to push myself to become involved with after-school activities so I could improve my socialization with others. I also knew that I needed to find joy in learning so that I could overcome my fear of being overwhelmed in school. I asked my parents to help me find someone who thought differently and who could work with someone different like me. I started to work with an alternative doctor who thought outside the box and listened to what I was trying to do. It took me the next four years to finally catch up with my classmates. By the time I was a sophomore in high school, I was holding a 4.8 GPA and involved with several extracurricular activities both in and out of school. I was advocating for myself to take the traditional tests in the traditional classroom. I was on the dean’s list and planning to join the National Honor Society.
With the accomplishments also come the setbacks. I am a soccer enthusiast. I love all things soccer so when I made the sophomore soccer team beating out over 80 other contenders for the 20 man team I was really overwhelmed. To see my picture in the yearbook (other than just in my class picture) was awesome. However, during one of the games when we were playing an extremely tough team I let my nerves get the best of me and forgot to pay attention. I entered the field, went for the ball and crashed into another player and tore my meniscus. And just like that… I was out for the entire season. That was a huge blow to my momentum. But after a couple of months I worked with Dr. Jason and he got my head back in the game. It took me two years, but I was back on the field again!
Ever since that realization in fifth grade when I chose to break free from the chains that were autism, I have never looked back. I have learned to persevere through obstacles and to never give in to what is “average” or “good enough for me”. It was because of this that I have found a passion for Accounting. The mathematical process that makes us “different” from each other. You could almost call me a nerd and I might actually embrace the name. If I had never chosen to overcome my autism, I would have never learned to enjoy that struggle that makes us different.
And by the way, I also have a YouTube channel that is all about soccer and the unheard players and stories in this beautiful game. Never believe it when people tell you that you are good enough. This limits your mind from accomplishing your dreams. Because what your mind can conceive the heart believes. @FootballUnveiled
I was born to fail. But I chose to fight and overcome. Learning to adapt was my greatest strength and challenge. I look forward to the challenge of college because I know how to find joy in the struggle to succeed.
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.
