A Unique Path: Growing up with Autism

Living with a disability has its challenges. I am an Oakville, Ont. resident with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and was diagnosed with it when I was three and a half years old. I turned 28 years old this July.

Autism has been quite a journey for me. Whether it is looking a person in the eye, reading facial expressions, making meaningful friendships with peers, having restricted interests, struggling with fine or gross motor skills, or dealing with sensory issues; these have affected my lifestyle. However, I also celebrate the positive, unique qualities I have.

MY DIAGNOSIS

As a toddler, my parents became concerned about my development. I could still only speak single words at three years old. In addition, I had some issues with aggression. My parents got me to see numerous professionals to understand what was different about me. Eventually, by January 1997, I was diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). According to Healthline, PDD-NOS was originally one of the five autism diagnoses until they all became a part of ASD in 2013. My parents thought I had another diagnosis because I was advanced in reading and spelling when I was little.

Cory at two years old (Photo credit: Nancy Fincher-Morrison).

ABA THERAPY AND EARLY SCHOOL YEARS

My parents were initially torn apart about my autism diagnosis. However, they realized there was a light at the end of the tunnel. My mother spent numerous hours looking for autism treatments that would help me grow as a person. Eventually, she found Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA) because she felt it was the most effective of all therapies. According to Psychology Today Canada, ABA is a therapy where people can improve behaviours in many life skills. In my case, social and language development was what my family especially focused on.

By the time I turned four in July 1997, I had started doing ABA. Between then and when I entered Kindergarten in September 1998, I would spend nearly 40 hours a week with ABA and at least 15 hours a week at Preschool. My therapists and preschool teachers would make sure I would meet my goals.

In Kindergarten, my mother hired ABA therapists to work with me in the classroom. These supports continued into the first grade until the educational assistant union didn’t allow privately funded supports. I also stopped doing ABA therapy because I became quite high-functioning at this point.

LATER SCHOOL YEARS

For the rest of my elementary career, I received EA supports on the board level. I struggled to keep up academically and needed many prompts from my EAs, but it worked out well in the end.

With social skills, my memories are clearer of these days than they were from the late 1990s. My peers were generally nice to me, and I had some short-term friends. Many people were patient with me despite that I couldn’t pick up on social cues well and would sometimes accidentally make inappropriate comments. Bullying and isolation would sometimes occur, but it was manageable.

My last few elementary years into high school were my biggest struggle socially. I lost many friends, was frequently bullied and ostracized because I was different, and had close to no friends. Academically, however, I improved a lot in high school. I even had a 90% average one semester.

I play tunes on my keyboard on New Year’s Eve 2007 (Photo credit: John Morrison).

ADULT YEARS

I started college at Sheridan’s General Arts and Science Program from 2011 to 2013. Not much changed from high school except the bullying stopped. 

Me after I walked the stage at my college graduation in October 2019 (Photo credit: Sheridan College).

From 2013 to 2017, I worked part-time for several years and made some good connections. By this period, I realized that people are more accepting and forgiving towards people with disabilities in the real world than they are in elementary and high school. Throughout my adulthood, I’ve lost some friends over the years but have kept many. I also attended Sheridan again for Journalism from 2017 to 2019, which was perhaps my most successful academic experience. I won an online publishing award for the article “The journey of autism services” in late 2018.

My online publishing award from November 2018 (Photo credit: Cory Morrison).

FUTURE PLANS & WORDS OF WISDOM

In the future, I hope to continue to publish written works to help raise awareness of many things happening in the world. In particular, I have a site named HFA Today, which has autism-related content.

My advice to anyone with autism or people who struggle in life for any reason is that you are who you are. Don’t let anyone convince you that you are worthless. You are priceless. If you can handle many obstacles thrown at you, it speaks to how strong your character is.

Check out Cory’s website below!

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