Dr. Gwynette: Okay. We’ll go next to Jennifer.

Jennifer: What kind of hobbies do you have?

Dr. Kerry Magro: Hobbies. I have a lot. As you could see from the baseball hat, I’m a big MLB guy. I love major league baseball. I love basketball. I’m so excited that we’re getting baseball back this week. So I love sports. I love movies. I love music. I love all types of R&B. I’m an ’88 baby, but I love 90s R&B, even oldies, Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross. So I have a lot of interests and hobbies today, but those are some of the big ones.

Dr. Gwynette: Awesome. David, you’re going to ask the next question.

David: What dating advice do you have for people who are on or with autism?

Dr. Kerry Magro: Well, the first and most important thing is, and it may sound cliche, but be yourself. I see so many kids who I mentor who ask me for dating advice and they say, “Kerry, I can’t act like myself. What’s that going to get me?” And the most important thing is you want to be with somebody who, ideally, you’re going to be happy with for hopefully the rest of your life. To find your soulmate, you don’t want to mask yourself to the point where you’re not being your true, authentic self for a partner.

Dr. Kerry Magro: I did that a lot when I was just starting off with relationships when I was about 18. I would try to talk about what they wanted to talk about all the time. I would kind of take away my own identity to try to please somebody else. And at the end of the day, you always have to put yourself first. When you’re in a relationship, you also have to commit to your partner. You can’t talk about what you want to talk about all the time, but it’s really important that you try to be the true best version of yourself possible. That’s one of the big things. The other thing I recommend is definitely look at online dating. I know, especially during COVID-19, it’s kind of harder.

David: Spectrum Singles is an autism dating website.

Dr. Kerry Magro: Yes. Yes. Spectrum Singles is a good one.

Dr. Gwynette: David has some exciting news he wants to share.

David: I’m [inaudible 00:02:44] engaged to my fiancee.

Dr. Kerry Magro: Awesome, man. Congrats. Did you you guys meet on Spectrum Singles?

David: Yep.

Dr. Kerry Magro: Awesome.

David: We’ve been together since 2017, and we’ll be getting married this October.

Dr. Kerry Magro: Oh, man, that’s awesome. If you have any interest in sharing about your story, definitely reach out to me after this. And if you’re interested in writing a guest blog post on my website, I’d love to hear a little bit more about just how that came about. I’m a big advocate for Spectrum Singles.

Dr. Gwynette: Thanks, David, and now we’re going to go to Miles.

Miles: What are your favorite shows on autism?

Dr. Kerry Magro: Well, in terms of shows right now, I love Atypical, which is on Netflix. Atypical focuses on Sam Gardner, an 18 year old with autism who’s navigating and finding love on the autism spectrum, and it’s on Netflix. It’s a great show. Their fourth season, I think, is coming up soon, which will be their final season. So I definitely love that show. I’ve advised for Mrs. Fletcher, which I worked on on HBO last year, which focuses on a five-year-old non-verbal child who’s on the autism spectrum, which was great. Because we see a lot of stories about individuals with autism and savant syndrome, it feels like in our entertainment industry. So to see the other side of the spectrum and talk about non-verbal autism was really cool. So those are definitely the two shows right now that I really enjoy.

Miles: Cool.

Dr. Kerry Magro: Very good. We’ll have to check those out. And next we’ll go to Jennifer.

Jennifer: Do you like video games at all?

Dr. Kerry Magro: I used to. It’s so hard to find time.

Jennifer: Yeah, that’s true.

Dr. Kerry Magro: I’m definitely looking at potentially maybe trying to get back into it if COVID-19 is going to continue, maybe doing the PS5, which will be out by the end of the year. I’m still stuck on a PS3. I’m still playing, every once in a while, I dust off the PS3, and I play NBA 2K13. That’s how outdated I am in terms of video games, but maybe I’ll-

Jennifer: I just have Nintendo.

Dr. Kerry Magro: Yeah, maybe I’ll splurge on a PlayStation Five.

Dr. Gwynette: That sounds fun. Okay. And our last question is coming from Lee.

Lee: What advice would you give to the Autism News Network?

Jennifer: Definitely keep at this. I think this is a very worthy cause, especially in educating about autism. We definitely need a lot more education about autism in our communities. I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to be in South Carolina several times for several different talks I’ve given, Greenville, South Carolina, also in North Carolina, as well. One of my close friends is from Raleigh, North Carolina. And I know a lot of the times, we need to do a little bit more in terms of promoting autism awareness so we could get more resources out there in our schools and our businesses. So just know that what you’re doing is really making a difference, and we just need more of what you’re doing. We need more awareness in our communities. Social media is key. I can’t tell you that enough. Continue to push Autism News Network out there on those channels. Definitely consider looking for corporate sponsorships, as well, to continue to put money to marketing so you can get your word out there.

Jennifer: And then, in addition to that, definitely look at other ways of getting your podcasts out there. Definitely. You said you’re on Spotify. Definitely look at doing iTunes, getting your story out there and in as many platforms as possible, because you never know who might be listening.

Dr. Gwynette: Yeah. That’s wonderful advice. And I didn’t share with Dr. Magro, initially, but our dreams, so you can hear it, is that we can make a literal broadcast station that will employ lots and lots of individuals with autism, and give them meaningful careers in the area of media and broadcasting. So we have that dream. There’s a long way to go, but certainly having you here, Dr. Magro, has been so just educational and just inspiring for us. So we want to thank you so much for taking the time to be here today.

Dr. Kerry Magro: Anytime, anytime.

Dr. Kerry Magro: And yeah, so everyone here feel free to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, we shared all the social media channels at the beginning. And keep up the good work, really appreciate what you’re doing. And I’m excited to be a fan of Autism News Network in the future, and listen to some of your podcasts.

Dr. Gwynette: You heard, we have been talking with Dr. Kerry Magro. You can follow him on Facebook, Kerry’s Autism Journey. He’s also on Twitter and Instagram under the name Kerry Magro K-E-R-R-Y-M-A-G-R-O, and on TikToK under a special community. So you can follow us on the AutismNewsNetwork.com. I’m Dr. Gwinette. You can follow me at Dr. Gwinette. We wanted to thank Dr. Kerry Magro again for joining us. Until next time. Have a great day.