This guest post is by Jack Kostas, a young man on the autism spectrum who was accepted into Johnson County Community College. Jack 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.
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.
My name is Jack Kostas and I am a senior at Saint Charles East High School. I have dealt with many challenging situations and have risen to not just overcome them but to excel because of them; one of them was when I was eighteen months old when I was diagnosed with autism. Fortunately, I was diagnosed early and I was able to receive Early Intervention in speech therapy and occupational therapy.
Having this diagnosis for all my life may not be that easy for me. I was very delayed in speaking and did not start talking in full sentences until I was five years old. I was very lucky to have a mother that was very hands-on and instrumental in my therapies and special needs as a toddler and young person. I always do my very best to be the greatest, most successful human being. During my earlier years, before I could speak, I used to communicate using sign language. Since the start of preschool, I was put into a program with more kids that have autism and other disorders. When I am looking back now to those times, they have been one of the most helpful moments of my life because I was actually learning how to learn, communicate properly, make friends, and adapt to new situations.
When I started meeting new kids in different classrooms for other classes like Social Studies and Science, it always makes my day to meet some new and nice teachers and students that would care about me and made me feel included in activities. So far, my journey has taught me that having empathy and caring for others is more important than anything else. When I entered middle school, I knew a lot of kids because I had spent time in almost every elementary school and had made friends at every single one. The fact is, it just makes me feel good to make others happy. Since people have been doing a lot for me to make my life enjoyable and easy, I want to do the same thing for them because I care about everybody.
Then something happened in middle school that changed my life forever, I decided to run Cross Country for the first time. I was the only athlete on the team with autism but used the sport to break the barrier and branch out to an environment that wasn’t modified for me. The great thing about running is that numbers don’t lie and my times were improving and my teammates were treating me based on my performance. Every positive comment fueled my confidence not only that I did a good job at running but that I was socially bridging the gap, a lesson that will never make me feel inferior again because of my disability.
Since I liked running with my teammates so much, I even decided to do that sport for four more years in high school. My running has continued and I just completed my Varsity running season with my best 3-mile race being under 16 minutes. Currently, my biggest struggle is communication and the way that I speak. Sometimes when I speak the words that come out don’t exactly match what I am trying to say. I have noticed that my job as a host at Wahlburgers has helped my communication since it forces me to talk all day long while dealing with the customers. I feel very fortunate that I am able to balance school, work, sports, and my social life. I think that every area helps me socially and helps me improve on my issues.
From the beginning of my life up to right now, I have been improving my speech and my communication skills. I may still have some issues with speaking today, but that will not stop me from being the best person I can ever see myself. So now I have learned a lesson that the rest of you will too. No matter if you have autism or not, communication and friendship will always be the key to having a successful, social, unforgettable, and memorable life.
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.
