This guest post is by Sarah, a young woman on the autism spectrum who has been accepted into Casper College. Sarah 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. Can I ask for a favor? I’m trying to make this nonprofit self-sufficient so I can make this my full-time job supporting the special needs community and would appreciate you taking a minute before reading on to watch this video below and subscribing to our Youtube page here to get to learn more about the work we do in the community.
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.
As a person with autism, I’ve had to overcome many challenges in my life. The most difficult challenge has been comprehension and understanding of what is written and what people say. I’ve had a supportive team of teachers and counselors ever since preschool and I believe they have had a huge impact on helping me get this far with my education and my enthusiasm for future endeavors. I still struggle from time to time with instructors who talk too fast.
I also have a hard time understanding what something might mean especially if it’s a saying I haven’t heard before. When I was little I would repeat what was being said to me. I also had fears of garage door openers, vacuum cleaners, dishwashers, ceiling fans, etc. I overcame these fears and stopped repeating what was being said to me.
As I grew older it helped me to work out problems by creating an imaginary creature. I would talk to him and he would help me figure things out. I always knew it was my own brain and he was not real but it made figuring things out fun. When I was in elementary school I had trouble with organization. I struggled to keep assignments in one spot and would lose assignments. I got better when I got to high school and college but I still struggle with organization.
Since I can remember, I’ve always wanted a place to fit in with my peers. I was fortunate enough to find music. I tried a couple of instruments before I found that I had a passion for the flute. I am now an advanced flutist.
I have struggled with talking to peers because I was fearful of what they would think of me. When I was in elementary school I was outgoing and talked with everyone. When I got to middle school I became quiet and shy but I found that theater allowed me to express myself without holding back. I still like to be involved in theater especially musicals.
When I was a little girl I started writing fiction books. They didn’t make any sense to someone else would read them. As time went on I have succeeded in writing books that make sense and I believe they would make really good children’s books for other kids to read. I also have illustrations in the books that I think are pretty good.
I’ve always loved seeing someone smile. I realize that it might be hard to get in a big city symphony so I’m going to shoot for a smaller city symphony someday. I will still need to earn enough money to live on my own so I would like to pursue getting a dental hygienist degree after I get my music performance degree. I want to be a full-time dental hygienist and still play flute.
These are my educational goals. I want to pursue playing the flute, acting in theater, creative writing and drawing, and dental hygienist.
Follow my journey on Facebook, my Facebook Fan Page, & 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 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.
