by Karly Fereday, Miss Vermont International and Stern Center Volunteer
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| Karly (left) and Emmaline at the Stern Center |
My name is Karly Fereday and I am Miss Vermont International 2015. For those of you who might not know much about me, I am the oldest of six siblings. I attended Meredith College for two years studying Art and one day I hope to become an Art Therapist. I have chosen Autism as my platform for the pageant because it’s very close to my heart for many reasons, one of them being that I have a younger brother that has been diagnosed with it.
Autism is a developmental disability that affects how a person communicates and relates to other people. It also affects how they make sense of the world around them. It is a spectrum condition which means that, while all people with autism share certain difficulties, their condition will affect them all differently. I have been working as a personal care assistant for people with special needs on and off for about five years while working part-time at a salon. Autism is my platform that I am speaking about across the state of Vermont to raise awareness.
I have been a volunteer for the Vermont Autism Task Force, and for the past month, have also volunteered in the Communication Services department at the Stern Center on Tuesdays. While there, I work with two different groups of kids. The first group is made up of a couple of energetic, 10-year-old boys, and the second is a group with two 14-year-old girls, who love trying on my crown and sash, and taking photos.
