I always knew that I was different. I hated tags on my collars, buttons on my shirts, and I could not tie my own shoes like other kids. I was good at tasks that required linearity, but when it came to three-dimensional activities like building with Legos or rotating blocks, I struggled. I also felt isolated and struggled with fine and gross motor skills that most kids found trivial. Unbeknownst to me, doctors at Harvard told my parents that I suffered from a severe learning disability. Autism diagnoses at the time were generally reserved for children who were nonverbal. I worked hard in school. I taught himself things that other kids took for granted, like how to see beneath the surface of things. I pushed back against my fear of three-dimensionality and came up with techniques to teach myself geometry, graphing, and mathematical word problems. I even became an accomplished swimmer during middle school. However, I yearned for social connections, and I had only one friend true friend. It was not until age 16 that I was diagnosed with Asperger's, but even then, I didn’t truly understand what that meant other than I had “poor social skills.” 

 

​It was only during my first job in 2017, working in the management program at Aria Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, that I began to discover more about myself as I did research on what it truly meant to be Autistic. I left the program after only 3 months. Unsurprisingly, I believed in retrospect that I was wholly ill-equipped to succeed in the real world. I took failing at his first job very hard and sank into a deep depression, believing that everything was hopeless and that there was no place for me in the real world. 

 

​After seeking therapy and joining an Autism support group called Fly Brave, I began to recover and also realized that he had a real talent for public speaking and delivering my message, which centers on hope, personal responsibility, and perseverance. Teaching public speaking classes for Fly Brave has helped me gain self perspective and empathy. I enjoy helping others learn, grow, and overcome their own challenges.

 

My main goal and passion is to spread hope. The number of unemployed young and even older Autistic adults is unacceptably high, but it does not need to be this way! By sharing my story and experiences, I hope to educate both employers and those with autism and their parents that, as challenging as it might be, neurodivergents can achieve their goals and live productive and meaningful lives.