I would like to introduce you to a very special girl named Carlee Astrid Barker. She is six years old. She is bright, funny, sweet, beautiful, and full of dreams. One of the things that makes Carlee special is that she is autistic and has photosensitive epilepsy. She experiences several myoclonic seizures everyday. She has a service dog named Sunshine. Carlee loves computers, math patterns, princesses, collecting rocks, adores animals and above all when she grows up she want.s to be a Princess at Disneyland. One day we received a letter from the National American Miss Pageant inviting her to attend an interview to qualify her as a finalist in the NAM Utah Pageant. Carlee took the letter to the computer and typed in the website. She watched every video and looked at every picture then turned to me and said, "I in princess show, mom, I a princess." I was a little nervous but decided to let her interview thinking it would be over before it started because Carlee does not talk to strangers. I wasn't sure she would even talk to anyone because of her delayed language and social anxiety but the young woman interviewing the girls told them that she was Mulan at Disneyland. Carlee was star struck. She got in line and talked to Mulan She taught me a very important lesson about underestimating her because of her disabilities. She did the interview, she rocked it and made it to the finals at the state pageant. Since the interview she has been working very hard to learn to say all of the words in her introduction. She has already picked out her dresses for the interview and formal part of the program. She is working very hard to live her dream to become a princess. I don't know what the outcome of this experience is going to be for her but I do know that she has a chance to shine and be very special for one night because a Pageant looked past her Autism and saw this amazing little girl with a dream.

carrie barker
park city, UT