If you have a family member or friend on the autism spectrum — and almost everyone does — a free presentation Saturday at Warren Hills High School in Washington Township in Warren County may be of interest and enlightening.
Kerry Magro, an autism advocate and internationally renowned speaker, will present “I Used to Be Bullied for Having Autism: Here is When it Stopped,” at 6:30 p.m.
Admission is free; please register here.
Neurodiversity in workplace
Magro will speak with your company on neurodiversity in the workplace. Contact him here.
The program is hosted by event sponsor Greenwich Autism Alliance Foundation, the Arc of Warren County, Abilities of Northwest Jersey Inc. and Warren Hills High School.
Magro’s talk will offer a firsthand account of a young man who was bullied as he was growing up on the autism spectrum. He will share the difficulties of having autism and not being able to express and defend himself. Some causes and effects of bullying on our community and in our schools will be discussed, as well as which behaviors are considered bullying (including cyberbullying).
A plan will detail seven steps involved in taking a stand against bullying that should help self-advocates, families and professionals. Time will be included for questions and discussion.
Magro, who was born in Jersey City and now lives in Hoboken, earned an Ed.D. in educational technology leadership from New Jersey City University.
About the Arc of Warren County
The Arc is a national organization that serves individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities and their family members since 1950. The Arc of Warren County is one of 700 chapters of the Arc and has served more than 1,100 people annually for the past 67 years.
Magro is an award-winning autistic professional speaker, best-selling author and autism consultant to the HBO series “Mrs. Fletcher,” which aired in fall 2019, and the latest season of Netflix’s Emmy Award-winning series “Love on the Spectrum.”
He started professional speaking 12 years ago via the National Speakers Association after he fell in love with theater as a child to help with his social and communication skills. Today, he has spoken at over 1,200 events during that time, including two TEDxTalks and a “Talks at Google” presentation.
In addition, Magro is CEO of KFM Making A Difference, a nonprofit organization that hosts inclusion events and has provided 100 scholarships for students with autism for college and counting since 2011.
“I am pleased to speak at this community again, which is made possible by the collaborative efforts of multiple organizations,” he said. “I presented on the topic of Defining Autism: From Nonspeaking to Professional Speaker at Warren Hills High School last year and look forward to coming back to the area again to address the audience on this new topic.”
