When Someone Feels Accepted Because Of You

It’s not every day that someone reaches out to me. I never know who is reading my blog or watching my YouTube videos, but every so often, I will get a comment on social media in regards of my Asperger’s or just autism in general.

Melissa Lushington came across my YouTube channel. She mentioned on one of my videos that she writes a blog about autism advocacy, independence, and acceptance. She then sent me a heartwarming email about how she is a 25-year-old woman who is on the autism spectrum who was instantly drawn to me when she saw my YouTube channel. She tells me that by watching me, she feels a sense of love, warmth, and acceptance for who she is as an individual.

Melissa writes a monthly blog for a Non-Profit Organization called “Verge of Independence Project. Multimedia Autism Advocacy” She wanted to promote independence, self-advocacy, and social confidence for adults on the autism spectrum.

She hopes to one day become a journalist. She takes pride in her work on the website and hopes that it will help her reach her dream of becoming a successful journalist. Melissa loves to tell her story in hopes that it will help others with finding who they are and how they can one day change the world. She wants people to become stronger, independent and learn that it's okay to be different.

https://www.vergeofindependenceproject.org/blog-1

About Melissa and how she become a blogger for "Verge of Independence Project. Multimedia Autism Advocacy”

In 2019, I took a college course during the fall semester called Writing for Mass Media. It was a wonderful and educational experience in which I met with a lot of memorable students, heard from a fair amount of guest speakers that work in the media, and even had some written pieces of mine published in the college’s award-winning and student-run newspaper known as The Vanguard, which I still write for today. The most memorable moment in that class for me came towards the end of the semester when veteran journalist Stu Bykofsky was the guest lecturer. During Mr. Bykofsky’s lecture, the former Columnist at The Philadelphia Daily News & The Philadelphia Inquirer had the class take out a piece of paper and write down some adjectives that describe us. One of the adjectives that I wrote down was that I am autistic, and little did I know that sharing that information would be the springboard to launch me into the platform that I am in right now. In December of 2019, my college Professor Ms. Eva Blackwell (who is the founder of the organization) offered me an internship as an online blogger for Verge of Independence Project, a multimedia advocacy and resource organization for young adults on the autism spectrum whose independence is within reach.

The position called for me to write monthly blog articles on autism, so for over a year, I have displayed information on how autism has related to my life both in the past and the present. Being an autistic blogger not only helped me learn more about the autism community as well as those who are part of it, but it has also allowed me to get to know myself more as a self-diagnosed/identified autistic individual. Since I was truly enjoying the work I was doing, the creative process, and the positive impact that my blogs were having on people. I told Ms. Blackwell over the phone that I didn't want to be a year-long intern anymore, but rather a permanent staff member of the Verge of Independence Project: Multimedia Autism Advocacy Organization as a blogger and Autism Advocate. She happily agreed and granted my wish. To conclude, after almost two years later, here I stand, no longer an intern, but rather as a regular staff member of the Verge of Independence Project: Multimedia Autism Advocacy Organization writing monthly blogs as an autism advocate.

One of the things I wanted to do with talking about my experiences with Asperger’s is to be able to reach out to others and inspire. I write because I want to, it’s always been something I was good at. I think if we can just listen to what people have to say and see what it’s like for someone on the autism spectrum on a day-to-day basis then people will understand that the world can be an overwhelming place. Everyone has a story. It’s never the same story.

Knowing that I reached at least one person is something that makes me do what I do. I want to be able to be someone’s safe place, a place where they can be themselves.

I hope that more people like Melissa will find the love and support that they need to be able to be themselves.