Teen with Autism Wins 2022 Miss Dallas USA Pageant
Image Source: Zacgrimaldo on Instagram
With her service dog Brady by her side, 17-year-old Alison Appleby from Sherman, Texas is crowned winner of the 2022 Miss Dallas Teen USA Pageant.
Living with autism and epilepsy, Appleby made it her goal to “show people that you can do it with a disability." In a recent interview conducted by Fox News, Appleby also shares "I’ve always dreamed of being a pageant girl, but it just never seemed like I could do it. I was terrified the whole time, but having Brady by my side made it so much easier. He is my support through it all." Appleby’s mother Beth Appleby goes on to share with Kten that she wasn't nervous about her daughter entering the pageant. “They don't let the parents anywhere near the rehearsal or anything…she has Brady, who takes good care of her."
At the crowning ceremony, Appleby wasn't the only winner receiving a crown, as they pulled out a smaller one for Brady, the new Miss Dallas Dog. “When they crowned Brady, my heart sunk — my heart absolutely melted. He didn’t like it at first, but he got used to it pretty fast.” she says in the Fox interview.
After the ceremony, Appleby went on Instagram and shared photos from the pageant captioned:
“Me? A Princess? SHUT UP! Seriously though, I’m still in shock. I am officially Miss Dallas Teen 2022. I attended with the intentions of having fun and advocating for other girls with disabilities. Now I am blessed to have many more opportunities to do so! When I signed up for this pageant, a random stranger told me ‘you can’t do that, you have a service dog, pageant girls don’t have disabilities!’ Well, here we are! I cannot wait to spend the next year with @Ronnisha as we take on the titles of Miss Dallas Teen and Miss Dallas.”
In just a few months Appleby, and Brady will be heading to Houston in May 2023 to compete for the Miss Texas Teen title.
"I think that we all have the inner strength that we can pull from and that can sometimes shine despite any limitations that you have. Don’t let your setbacks make you give up on your dreams"
– Miss Dallas Teen 2022.