Jersey Proud: Autism advocate Kerry Magro

<p>New Jersey is a state with one of the highest incidences of autism.</p>

News 12 Staff

Aug 15, 2018, 12:23 AM

Updated 2,309 days ago

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New Jersey is a state with one of the highest incidences of autism.
A state resident is making New Jersey proud by being a role model for all those who have autism in the state.
Kerry Magro was diagnosed with autism when he was a child. For the first few years of his life, he did not speak. But Magro, now age 30, not only speaks, but gives speeches about his experience with autism.
“When I was first diagnosed…simple things like getting married, holding a job, were very unlikely,” he says.
Magro is now a national spokesperson and gives 100 speeches a year, including TED Talks about autism. He is an also an author and mentor to children with autism.
Magro credits his mom and therapy at an early age for the man he's become. He says that he still deals with sensory issues - bright lights cause problems. But he says that people often tell him that they can’t believe that he has autism.
"It was a weakness. Today, I consider it my greatest strengths,” he says.
Magro also says he was one of the fist people with autism to be elected to public office. At an event with Sen. Bob Menendez, he was introduced as “future senator Kerry Magro.”