{"id":317064,"date":"2024-08-13T10:42:28","date_gmt":"2024-08-13T15:42:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=317064"},"modified":"2024-08-12T16:45:09","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T21:45:09","slug":"down-syndrome-miss-teen-usa-congeniality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/down-syndrome-miss-teen-usa-congeniality\/","title":{"rendered":"First teen with Down syndrome to compete in Miss Teen USA wins Miss Congeniality Award"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kayla Kosmalski, 18, has made history as the first teen with Down syndrome to compete in the Miss Teen USA beauty pageant, held in Los Angeles on Aug 4. Kosmalski, a native of Middletown, represented her state as Miss Delaware, and won the Miss Congeniality Award, dazzling judges with her beautiful smile and demonstrating that Down syndrome is not stopping her from pursuing her dreams.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/delawarelive.com\/kayla-kosmalski-miss-delaware-teen-usa\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Delaware Live<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Kosmalski aims to inspire everyone with Down syndrome and other disabilities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI want to show the world that people with Down syndrome can do anything,\u201d Kosmalski told <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/teen-with-down-syndrome-makes-beauty-pageant-history-exclusive-8691928\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PEOPLE Magazine<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kosmalski, who recently graduated from Middletown High, is headed to Wilmington University this Fall to study communications and be a cheerleader on the school\u2019s National Champion cheerleading team. She thanked her mother for helping her achieve her goals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kosmalski\u2019s mother, Amy, told <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/delawarelive.com\/kayla-kosmalski-miss-delaware-teen-usa\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Delaware Live<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that her dreams for her little girl were crushed when she received Kayla\u2019s Down syndrome diagnosis. The books she read about Down syndrome only informed her of what her daughter likely would not be able to do, which made the mother feel heartbroken. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI would cry in the shower for the first couple of weeks,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After a few weeks of having her baby daughter with her at home, however, Amy realized that Down syndrome would not stop her from helping her daughter to achieve great things.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>READ: <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/nine-year-old-model-down-syndrome-spreading-joy\/\"><em>Nine-year-old model with Down syndrome is \u2018spreading joy wherever she goes\u2019<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cA few weeks into loving her and having her at home, I thought, this is not what Down syndrome has to be,\u201d Amy said. \u201cI am going to love her. I am going to encourage her the same as I will any other child that we\u2019re blessed to have\u2026 Kayla\u2019s going to write her own story.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amy worked closely with her daughter from a young age, and ensured that her she regularly received instruction from early-intervention therapists who visited their home. Amy quickly noticed her daughter\u2019s love of the stage, and encouraged her to become a cheerleader, an actress, and a model.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amy has also inspired her daughter to work as a political and social activist for people with disabilities. Kosmalski and her family were instrumental in the signing of the<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/government-entities\/federal-state-local-governments\/able-accounts-tax-benefit-for-people-with-disabilities\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ABLE<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Achieving a Better Life Experience) Act into Federal Law in 2015. The Law, called the &#8216;Kayla Act&#8217; in Delaware, grants disabled people more financial independence than they were entitled to previously.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kosmalski is currently advocating for babies with Down syndrome as the 2024 Ambassador for <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/heartsofjoyinternational.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hearts of Joy International<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, an organization that operates around the globe to save the lives of babies with Down syndrome by providing access to heart surgery, resources, and support and education promoting \u201cthe inherent dignity and value of the child.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/actnow.io\/ARQQhk1\"><b><i>The DOJ put a pro-life grandmother in jail for protesting the killing of preborn children. Please take 30-seconds to TELL CONGRESS: STOP THE DOJ FROM TARGETING PRO-LIFE AMERICANS.<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kayla Kosmalski, 18, has made history as the first teen with Down syndrome to compete in the Miss Teen USA beauty pageant, held in Los Angeles on Aug 4. Kosmalski, a native of Middletown, represented her state as Miss Delaware, and won the Miss Congeniality Award, dazzling judges with her beautiful smile and demonstrating that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":867,"featured_media":317078,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[9455,3473],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>First teen with Down syndrome to compete in Miss Teen USA wins Miss Congeniality Award<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kosmalski dazzled judges with her beautiful smile and demonstrated that Down syndrome is not stopping her from pursuing her dreams.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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