Kerry Magro was diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder at age 4. Growing up, he had to deal with many difficulties, including sensory integration, motor problems, overall social interaction and communication delays.
Today, he is an award-winning disability advocate, a best-selling author of two books, a movie consultant and founder of a nonprofit that has awarded more than 50 scholarships to students with autism.
“It took hundreds of hours of therapy,” said Magro – who was completely nonverbal until nearly age 3 – to a group of people attending a talk he gave Wednesday evening at Clarion High School.
Magro said when he was a child all he knew about autism was from the movie “Rainman” that starred Dustin Hoffman.
“I always expected someone to come in and take me to Las Vegas where we would make a lot of money in the casinos (counting cards),” he said. “That didn’t happen and neither did my dream of being a member of the Back Street Boys.”
Magro also recalled being bullied because he was different.
“One of the main things I hope to teach others is that autism isn’t a disease,” he said. “That’s the big thing. We may have some differences, but that shouldn’t be discouraged. We all are a little different from the next person we are going to meet.
“More than 1.5 million Americans have autism, with over 500,000 children with autism who will reach adulthood within the next decade,” Magro said. “The numbers for autism are constantly growing, while our spectrum also continues to grow in terms of diversity.
“Supports need to be put in place for our loved ones to thrive. That means all of us, ranging from the most severely affected to the least severely affected by autism.”
Magro said he never wanted to be defined by autism. Rather, he wanted to define autism in everything he did with his life.
“When I was younger I wish I had role models to look up to who were on the spectrum,” Magro said. “Now that I’m an adult, I want to help pave the way for the future generations of kids on the spectrum and to let them know that they aren’t alone out there.”