This guest post is by Luke Stack, a young man on the autism spectrum who was diagnosed with Asperger’s and has been accepted into Western Connecticut State University. Luke 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, was released on March 29, 2022, on Amazon here for our community to enjoy featuring the stories of 100 autistic adults.
When I was born, my mom noticed I was different. She just thought it was me just being me. I loved to rock and move my hands and feet while I sat in my car seat. As I developed into a toddler, she told me I always lined everything up such as my cars or my magnetic letters. I also insisted on going the same route in stores. I was obsessed with certain things, such as vacuum cleaners.
Once I entered school, my kindergarten teacher noticed I struggled. My mom just thought it was because she always did everything for me. My teacher immediately started setting goals for me such as putting on my coat and zippering it up. I knew the other kids could do this easily and I couldn’t. I worked hard but I had a way about me that I could get the other kids to help me. Once I went to first grade my teacher immediately called a meeting with my mom. It was then my mom brought me to a doctor and I was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. This is on the Autism spectrum.
I was too young to understand at that point in my life what that diagnosis was but every year my teachers set goals for me to accomplish. It was hard to know the other kids could do things easily and it took me longer to accomplish these things. I had to work hard to overcome each challenge set for me. Certain ones didn’t take very long to accomplish, but others I’m still working on to this day such as even tying my own shoes.
Once I started my middle school years I was very anxious about switching classes and transitioning to a new school environment. I had to take certain steps that other kids did not have to do such as visiting the school in the summer and requesting another student that I was friends with to be in the same house as me. Doing these things helped me feel comfortable and more confident that I would be successful. Each year did get a little easier because my confidence level grew as I got more familiar with teachers, students, and my routine. Routine was key to me and helped me tremendously in my ability to learn differently.
Every year during my PPT meeting new goals are set for me and I work very hard with the help of my teachers and my mom to accomplish them. Sometimes I get frustrated and think I can’t do it but I know if I have a positive attitude and believe in myself I can do anything I set my mind to. As I accomplish each goal I realize there will always be more. My life compared to some of my peers will always be a little harder, but once I saw myself overcoming each task I became prouder and stronger as a person.
Looking back on things I realize I can do anything that is put before me with a little preparation and help. I’m so thankful to all of my teachers that have helped me because they saw my potential. I know once I enter college there will be more things I probably will find challenging but I am up for that challenge! I won’t let my disability stop me from accomplishing my goals! I don’t think of myself as different or ever use Aspergers as an excuse, all I think is this is just me being me! And honestly, I really like myself!
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.
