This guest post is by Talia Weber, a young woman who is diagnosed with autism and will attend Framingham State University. Talia is applying for the Spring 2025 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.
I have been performing on stages my whole life. I have always felt drawn to the stage, ever since I was a little girl. Whether it was acting, dancing, or singing, I just knew that I was meant to perform. My earliest performances took place at my grandparents’ house on Cape Cod. My cousins and I frequently performed shows for our family. My first public performance was a dance recital in a high school auditorium. It was exhilarating being on stage performing in front of an audience. I eventually moved on from dance classes to musical theater. I then spent many years acting in various shows with Concord Youth Theater.
Acting on stage has always felt like second nature to me. It has always been a safe and comfortable environment. I appreciate that I know exactly what to expect and what is expected of me. The script tells me what to say, the director tells me where to go, the pianist teaches me the melodies for the songs, and the choreographer teaches me the dances. When I have participated in plays, I have felt a sense of belonging.
When I was young I was known as “the theater girl”.The irony is that I wasn’t only acting on stage, but I was acting in real life too. Outside of theater, I never felt like I belonged anywhere. I always felt like there was something wrong with me. When I was in elementary school I had trouble making friends. I felt like I had to pretend to be someone else in order to fit in.
When I was in fifth grade, I got cast as the lead role in my school’s play. Normally, I wasn’t invited to sit with the “popular kids” at lunch. But when everyone found out what role I had, they were all practically begging me to sit with them at lunch. Whenever I sat with these people, I would put on an act so that they would accept me. I felt that if I was just myself, they would no longer want to sit with me. I was trying to be someone else so they would like me. However, once the show was over, I was no longer invited to sit with them anyways.
By the time I got to middle school, I had an even harder time fitting in. The majority of my time at school was spent in the guidance counselor’s office. There were a few friend groups that I tried to become a part of, but no matter how hard I tried, it just never clicked. As time went on, it became difficult for me to even attend school. In eighth grade I was finally placed at a therapeutic school. At this time I was diagnosed with high functioning autism. This diagnosis helped me to understand why I had such a hard time being myself around other people.
Although I finally understood why I struggled so much, things didn’t really get easier. As I finished my first year of therapeutic school, Covid hit. The next two years represented a really difficult time for me. I moved from one school to the next until finally landing at the school I attend now. I started at Seem Collaborative Campus Academy in the fall of 2022, and I was ecstatic to find out that theater was a required course. Once I started participating in the shows, I felt more comfortable at school. I got to know the other students, and I realized that I could be myself and be accepted. Although I still mask at times, I have learned that true friends will accept me for who I am despite my challenges.
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.
