Here she comes
by Patricia
The Miss America pageant is tomorrow, and I’m rooting for Miss Montana. I traveled to Montana last year to give an autism workshop, and was lucky enough to hear Alexis Wineman, this year’s Miss Montana, share her story to open the day’s activities.
Her story included a childhood with serious social struggles, an autism diagnosis in grade seven, success in high school with the cross-country and drama club and … victory at the Miss Montana pageant.
Ms. Wineman shared her story eloquently with 300 workshop attendees. Many of the attendees were parents, and hearing Ms. Wineman share her story clearly gave them a positive perspective on the possibilities for people living with autism.
There were many quotable moments in Ms. Wineman’s speech, but my favorite was definitely this one: “Being on the spectrum is not a death sentence, but a life adventure, and one that I realize has been given to me for a reason.”
Alexis Wineman is at the Miss America pageant getting ready for the big event tomorrow, and you can sign our good luck card now to join us in letting her know we’re rooting for her. Go, Alexis, go!