This guest post is by Luke Friedel, a young man on the autism spectrum who was diagnosed with ASD at age 4 and has been accepted into University of Missouri-St. Louis. Luke 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, will be released on March 29, 2022 on Amazon here for our community to enjoy featuring the stories of 100 autistic adults.
Let’s talk about some challenges and successes I’ve had during this time. I participated in Missouri’s Early Intervention Program before moving to Early Childhood Special Education. I have a lot of memories there, like singing songs, playing with the tricycles, and lots and lots of therapy. I found it hard at school to pay attention, stay in one place, and even follow the rules. This included difficulty transitioning to other classrooms and not keeping my hands to myself. I had an assistant teacher sitting by me from second grade all the way to eighth grade. She helped me get back on track if I was not focused. After my freshman year concluded, I transferred to a private high school, Miriam Academy, meaning that I left my old friends behind. I did manage to adjust to the new surroundings and befriend some teachers and students. One thing that helped me get more comfortable was by joining Miriam’s high school news project, MATV News. My role was to push out news regarding technology and new system software updates since 2019. Before I graduated, I applied to the UMSL Succeed Program and got accepted on April 25, 2022.
Let’s also take a moment to share some lessons I’ve learned. If anyone’s making fun of you, just let it slide. I don’t mind who I am today. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it. Some supports that have helped me be successful are the following; The University of Missouri: St. Louis’ Succeed Enrichment Camp helping me with being away from home, the Missouri Youth Leadership Forum helping me deal with leadership skills, the NextED Challenge (which is coordinated by the St. Louis Arc) teaching me adult skills, the LAUNCH program helping me transition to college, LoveU2Pieces with teaching me social skills, and the St. Louis Arc itself provides some fun activities. But that’s not to say I didn’t have support from my family and friends around me. My mom, of course, was very supportive and a major part of my life. She enrolled me in many different schools and programs from 2009 to 2022, and it was a great way to adjust to the new environments around me.
Now… where am I with my life? I graduated from Miriam Academy in May of 2022, with a part-time technology assistant job over there. I’m currently in the UMSL Succeed program with a non-degree-seeking experience. I’m expected to graduate there by May 2024. I recently completed a seven-week class to assist me in taking my driver’s permit exam. Next, I will begin driving lessons over the summer. I also host a radio show at UMSL titled “Luke-ing Back”, which revolves around me going back in time and talking about all things nostalgia. I also enjoy reading some Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends fan stories in the style of the Classic Series (Seasons 1-7) in the final segment since the show is made for kids, teens, and adults alike.
Thank you for considering my application for the KFM Making a Difference Scholarship. The costs for the Succeed program are not eligible for federal funding, so a scholarship award would be applied toward the cost of completing my certificate program.
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.
