There she is...

If you weren't already aware, there is an amazing woman with autism competing in the Miss America Pagent tomorrow night.  Her name is Alexis Weinman and she is from Montana.  As a true blue North Carolina girl, it will be a rare event that I will be rooting for someone to win other than Miss NC, but this young woman's story is so inspiring, I can't imagine supporting anyone else.

 As the mother of a little girl with autism, I am in awe of what this woman has accomplished.  When people think of autism, there is such a stigma.  These kids will never be social, they will never be able to publicly speak, they will surely have some kind of solitary career where interaction with others is minimal.  These are some things people, including myself at times, tend to think about children with autism.  The fact that a woman with autism is in such a public position, has already been already crowned Miss Montana, and is in the running for Miss America, is mind blowing.  How much more social of a job can one have.  She must daily interact with others, speak publicly on a routine basis, and she will be scrutinized daily by those who find it easy to judge, but difficult to really understand someone with autism.  

I was in tears tonight as I saw her parents interviewed on television.  The pride that they feel must be completely overwhelming.  When your child has any type of special needs, you, as a parent, can't help but assume that there will be limitations on their future.  The amount of hope that this girl has given to a nation where 1 in 88 children are diagnosed with autism, is unfathomable.  I have said before that I have grieved over the loss of what my daughter's future could be.  I am guilty of assuming that this diagnosis will surely determine the avenues that her life will take.  The fact that this girl has triumphed over the enormous obstacle of an autism diagnosis is eye opening to me as a parent of a child on the spectrum.

I have a t shirt that says, "Autism:  Different, not less".  I never really grasped the true meaning of that phrase until recently.  Hopefully, I will no longer let my own preconceived ideas of autism dictate my perception of my daughter's future.  She can do anything and be anything.  Just because she is on the spectrum doesn't mean she has to fit into the little box of what society thinks a child with autism will end up as.  Her future does not have to be a result of her diagnosis.  Her future can be a result of her ability to overcome whatever difficulties she may face.  

I am not under the assumption that my little girl is going to be the next Miss America.  That would be great, but I really don't think she's the pageant type.  What I am saying, is that she can be anything that she sets her mind to be.  The Lord only knows what the future holds for my daughter.  I will continue to trust in Him and the fact that He has said, "...For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and future."  As long as my daughter knows that He holds her future, I am positive that she will surely prosper in whatever lies ahead.