When Alexis Wineman, 18, takes the stage at the 2013 Miss America pageant this Saturday in Las Vegas, the reigning Miss Montana will become the first autistic contestant to compete for the crown. Diagnosed at the age of 11, Wineman’s platform is to raise awareness about the developmental disorder. She spoke to TIME about her start in pageants, Honey Boo Boo and what she plans to do after this weekend’s competition.
Read more of Fei Fei Sun's Time article HERE.
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Showing posts with label Alexis Wineman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alexis Wineman. Show all posts
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Monday, August 6, 2012
Miss Montana overcame many challenges on her way to the crown
When Alexis Wineman, Miss Montana 2012, discusses her desire to help people with autism, she’s not speaking in flowery beauty pageant platitudes about trying to make the world a better place.
She’s speaking from experience.
Wineman, of Cut Bank, was diagnosed with Pervasive Development Disorder, including borderline Aspergers Syndrome, when she was 11 years old. The diagnosis followed a two-year process that included counseling, an exhaustive battery of tests and at least one misdiagnosis.
Wineman was often teased and bullied at school and said she usually avoided interaction with others when she was younger.
“I felt so alone growing up, and I still do at times,” she said Thursday during a conference on autism at the Montana State University Billings downtown campus. “Nobody understood what I was going through. I separated myself from my classmates and spent most of my time alone. I stayed quiet to hide my speech problems. Due to these overwhelming and daily struggles, I looked at myself as a punching bag for others, and a burden to my family.”
Wineman said the diagnosis helped her understand why she was different from other kids. And with support from her mother, teachers, counselors and her three siblings, she matured into the poised, confident 18-year-old, whose stand-up comedy routine left the audience rolling in the aisles at the Miss Montana pageant.
Read more of By Tom Howard/Billings Gazette article at the Missoulian HERE.
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