This guest post is by Abbey Doerger, a young woman diagnosed with autism at 15 months and attends Nazareth College. Abbey is applying for the Spring 2023 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.
My name is Abbey Doerger and I attend Nazareth College for a bachelor’s program in Social Work. My interests are traveling, nature, animals, art, athletics, video games, music, and fashion. I am writing this essay to educate people on what it is like to be on the autism spectrum. I am currently a junior at Nazareth College and working on obtaining my degree in Social Work. I have gotten into Social Work because I want to help people who have dealt with social and emotional challenges and make connections with them. I want to support them in overcoming their challenges because I feel like people deserve to be heard and assisted with care when dealing with obstacles.
My essay is to show people what it is like to be on the autism spectrum. It is very emotionally draining to be on the autism spectrum, but it can make you stronger and teach you how to deal with difficult challenges. I am also writing this essay to let people with autism know that they are not alone in their dark times. I want them to know that they are loved, valid, supported and that they can be successful.
One of my greatest challenges of growing up with Autism is being non-verbal until the age of 5. Learning American Sign Language and receiving speech therapy has sparked me to become a verbal person. I had difficulty making friends, fitting in with society, and managing my money. I also struggle with regulating my emotions. I have also dealt with anxiety and depression due to being marginalized in school and the community. Middle school was one of the toughest times for me because I was constantly bullied every day which led to my anxiety and depression. Transitions have been hard for me but as I grew up I learned different ways to cope and adjust. Another tough transition for me was losing my dog during the Covid pandemic.
Losing my dog, Remy was also hard for me because he was my rock during my difficult times. He helped me cope with my autism and taught me responsibility and friendship. He taught me that having a pet can be a great treatment for people with autism, anxiety, and depression. He also helped fill the void when I was feeling lonely. He helped me grow into a nurturing and responsible person. He had proven to me that people with autism can be nurturing and hardworking.
One of my greatest accomplishments is at a young age, my parents taught me how to advocate for myself. Whenever the school system did not have faith in me my parents had to fight for me tooth and nail to help me succeed and make me satisfied. My mom taught me how to advocate for myself at the age of 10 and I am so grateful that she did. She helped me make it far in life and I love her so much for it. My parents and sister see so much potential in me.
Another one of my greatest accomplishments is moving out of my house and having my single dorm room. Living in a single dorm room has taught me what it is like to be alone for twenty-four hours. Attending Nazareth College has given me a lot of freedom and independence. I also like that I can make friends that I could connect with and that support me no matter what.
Recently, I had gotten my driver’s license which made me so ecstatic because I feel like I don’t have to rely on people and public transportation as much as I used to. This feeling makes me look forward to having my car. I also would like to have my car to travel to places around the world.
All in all, I have learned through my challenges and accomplishments that autism does not define me. Those obstacles and achievements taught me not to let my autism get in the way of being independent, advocating for myself, being adventurous, and making the most out of my life. Facing those struggles has taught me to prove to the world that I can do things like other human beings whether I have autism or not. I have been able to prove that society’s stereotypes of autism are invalid. I want to end the stigma against autism and make the world more accepting.
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.
