The 92nd Miss America pageant will make history: a contestant with autism.
Miss Montana 2012 Alexis Wineman will enter the Las Vegas stage on Saturday as the first Miss America contestant with pervasive developmental disorder andborderline Asperger's syndrome at the age of 11, according to The Huffington Post.
Wineman, now 18 years old, is aiming to succeed Miss America 2012's Laura Kaeppeler of Wisconsin.
Wineman has attended the University of Montana with aspirations to major in art therapy and have a career to work in an art gallery or museum.
The Cut Bank, Montana native is going with the platform issue "Normal is Just a Dryer Setting" - Living with Autism.
"As Miss Montana, I have chosen to concentrate on promoting the awareness and understanding of autism," said Wineman in her Miss America 2013 video (see below). "Most people do not understand what autism is and one in 88 people having some form of autism, this understanding is becoming more and more necessary.
She later added, "We cannot cure what is not a sickness, but we can begin to understand autism, and help those with the condition to unlock the potential that lies within all of us."
Her talent for the Miss America 2013 pageant is a comedic monologue, unique from the standard singing or dancing shown from many other contestants.
A Miss Montana has never won the Miss America title. The closest the state has won the title was in 1994 with Yvonne Dehner who was a semi-finalist.
The Miss America pageant touts itself as among the nation's largest scholarship providers for young women with $45 million in cash and scholarship assistance made available last year. The winner of Miss America does not get the entire prize as portions of the scholarship are made available to over 12,000 other women who compete in state and local competitions.
The 2013 Miss America pageant will be live on Saturday at 9 p.m. EST on ABC.
Wineman will compete against 52 other contestants:
Miss Alabama: Anna Laura Bryan
Miss Alaska: Debbe Jo Ebben
Miss Arizona: Piper Stoeckel
Miss Arkansas: Sloane Roberts
Miss California: Leah Cecil
Miss Colorado: Hannah Porter
Miss Connecticut: Emily Audibert
Miss Delaware: Alyssa Murray
Miss District of Columbia: Allyn Rose
Miss Florida: Laura McKeeman
Miss Georgia: Leighton Jordan
Miss Hawaii: Skyler Kamaka
Miss Idaho: Whitney Wood
Miss Illinois: Megan Ervin
Miss Indiana: Merrie Beth Cox
Miss Iowa: Mariah Cary
Miss Kansas: Sloane Lewis
Miss Kentucky: Jessica Casebolt
Miss Louisiana: Lauren Vizza
Miss Maine: Molly Bouchard
Miss Maryland: Joanna Guy
Miss Minnesota Siri Freeh
Miss Massachusetts: Taylor Kinzler
Miss Michigan: Angela Venditti
Miss Minnesota: Siri Freeh
Miss Mississippi: Marie Wicks
Miss Missouri: Tippe Emmott
Miss Nebraska: Mariah Cook
Miss Nevada: Randi Sundquist
Miss New Hampshire: Megan Lyman
Miss New Jersey: Lindsey Petrosh
Miss New Mexico: Candice Bennatt
Miss New York: Mallory Hagan
Miss North Carolina: Arlie Honeycutt
Miss North Dakota: Rosie Sauvageau
Miss Ohio: Elisa McCracken
Miss Oklahoma: Alicia Clifton
Miss Oregon: Nicole Mead
Miss Pennsylvania: Jordyn Colao
Miss Puerto Rico: Kiaraliz Media
Miss Rhode Island: Kelsey Fournier
Miss South Carolina: Ali Rogers
Miss South Dakota: Calista Kirby
Miss Tennessee: Chandler Lawson
Miss Texas: DaNae Couch
Miss Utah: Kara Arnold
Miss Vermont: Chelsea Ingram
Miss Virgin Islands: Aniska Tonge
Miss Virginia: Rosemary Willis
Miss Washington: Mandy Schendel
Miss West Virginia: Kaitlin Gates
Miss Wisconsin: Kate Gorman
Miss Wyoming: Lexie Madden
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