This guest post is by Isaac Daily, a young man who is diagnosed with autism and ADHD and plays rugby at Ohio State University. Isaac 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.
Hi my name is Isaac Daily. My life has been rough, I’ve lost so many people. When I was younger my old doctor told me I won’t be going to college and I won’t be nothing in life. I lost my grandma to cancer. I loved her so much, I wish she was here when I went to college. Another person I lost was my best friend was Patrick Dillion. I lost him before I left for college. He had a half heart, but I believed he had a whole heart. He went into cardiac arrest, and I held his hand while he passed away. I lost my dog. His name was Oreo-he was a good dog. I wish he could see me go to college.
It would be a blessing if I get money from this scholarship so I can save money for a car. I just got my permit. The one thing I think I am making my family members proud of is how I proved everyone who doubted me wrong. I am going to college at my dream school! One thing everyone assumes since I have autism is that I’m not smart, however I can do anything if I put my blood sweat and tears in it and prove everyone wrong. As I mentioned before, my old doctor said I’m not going anywhere in life. Like I say, it went in one ear out the other. I don’t listen to haters. I know I have autism and ADHD but I am a person with feelings.
The one person that helps me with everything is my sister. She is an amazing person; she has my back and she helps me from the bad and good. My mom helps me with anything I need help with. We get into arguments, but I love her. My mom is the best mom that I can ask for. My dad helps me with everything. He has my back, we have our times but we are all family.
Another important person in my life is Shawn Dillion. I call him my dad because he is like a second dad to me. I met him at our camper and that’s how I met his son Patrick Dillion .I met another friend-I call sister Gabby Stankorb. Her brother is also like a sibling to me. I call him brother Marky Stankorb. We met when I was around 10 and we have been friends since. I got his back 24/7.
I struggled a lot when I was younger, but I am doing much better. My mom and dad helped me with my rough patches. They pushed me to do good. Since then they have pushed me a lot. I made my dream come true. I won a championship my first year in college and now I have proved all the haters wrong. I’m glad I pushed myself to do good and even win a championship.
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.
