NLACRC Consumer & Family Stories
Miss Photogenic
Alexus Johnson is a talented fourth grader
who loves to sing and dance. She shares her passion for
performing by participating in pageants in the Antelope
Valley where she lives. In 2005, Alexus received the Most
Photogenic Crown in the Little Miss America Starlette Pageant.
She was also a contestant in the Little Miss Palmdale contest.
Her mother Cherice says that the pageants help Alexus develop
her social skills, and confidence in herself.
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| Miss Photogenic Alexus Johnson |
Ever since the age of three, Alexus has
shown a tremendous interest in watching singers and dancers
on television. She can see someone perform just once, and
she is able to imitate that person.
She and her younger brother Jeremiah also enjoy watching
the t.v. show That’s So Raven, and have fun pretending that
they are the actors on the show.
"Alexus likes to be Raven and Jeremiah plays Raven’s
brother, Cory,"Cherice says.
During the week of April17-23, the school Alexus attends,
Quail Valley Elementary, held its first Special Needs and
Talent week. The talent week’s purpose is to help create
awareness, tolerance, and sensitivity about disabilities,
and to promote and celebrate the students’ special gifts
and talents. Cherice helped coordinate the event, and Alexus
performed a song by one of her favorite artists, Mary J.
Blige.
Alexus is currently preparing for a performance in a production
of The Wiz at her school. Cherice says that having to follow
a script helps Alexus work on her reading skills because
it encourages her to look at the text, and she is able to
pick up some words while she learns her lines.
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| Alexus poses for another shot. |
As a mother of a child with a disability,
Cherice feels it’s important to get children involved in
activities, and to give them exposure to things that interest
them regardless of their abilities or disabilities.
Alexus's goal is to learn to play the piano, and her mother
is in the process of finding an appropriate teacher for
her.
Cherice says, "I see Alexus as a performer. Maybe she
will dance, or teach dance, maybe she will sing or act?
Maybe she will be a mother, or an advocate or a teacher
like me. It doesn't matter to me, I'll just be happy that
she became something!"
FAQ
