Many women dream of becoming Miss America. And that dream is not unreachable, even if you have autism.
Miss America now has its first autistic contestant, Alexis Wineman, Miss Montana.
Wineman, is set to compete in the pageant this weekend. the 92nd Miss America pageant will be held on Saturday night. And it will be the first pageant that a contestant with autism will be participating.
Alexis tells the NBC Today Show, “Growing up, I never was really interested in pageants. I thought it would be something I was never able to do. It’s been an amazing, wonderful journey so far,” she said. But it’s been a long journey for Wineman, who told TODAY.com that it was “stressful” growing up.
“I was wondering why I was different, why I couldn’t make any friends, why I was bullied. I just kept asking myself, ‘Why, why, why?’”"
The 18-year-old Montana native was diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder and borderline Asperger's syndrome at the age of 11. And now she is able to use her position to raise awareness about her disorder. Her "Miss America platform issue" is called "Normal Is Just a Dryer Setting: Living with Autism."
For the talent competition Wineman will be doing a stand-up comedy set. And the subject matter is about women's body image.
The CDC estimates that 1 in 88 children has been identified with an autism spectrum disorder.
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