Amazing Orefield girl earns honor
Jaylene Goodman hopes to teach people about her disability, the value of kindness
Jaylene Goodman, a 10-year-old from Orefield, became the first Pennsylvania entrant to win top honors in the Miss Amazing Summit, a gathering of young women with special needs from across the country.
Even in her moment of triumph within a national spotlight, Jaylene Goodman couldn’t help thinking about her peers and their feelings.
A 10-year-old from Orefield, Jaylene stood on stage at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Chicago this month and received heartwarming news — she had been crowned the Preteen Queen at the Miss Amazing Summit, a gathering of young women from throughout the country with special needs.
It was the first time an entrant from Pennsylvania took top national honors in any of the six age categories for the national program, which has grown to chapters in 35 states since its formation in 2007 in Omaha, Nebraska.
“I think that her confidence won a lot of people over,” said Mel Maresca, Pennsylvania state director.
Jaylene, who has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, began her path to the national competition by securing top honors during the Miss Amazing pageant held in March at St. John’s United Church of Christ in Emmaus.
Miss Amazing, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is dedicated to providing opportunities for girls and women with disabilities to reach their full potential while creating a culture of celebration and empowerment, according to its website.
The national gathering Aug. 2-4 provided the entrants an opportunity to shine in categories such as formal wear and displays of talent, including song and dance.
Jaylene, who is preparing to begin sixth grade, has a knack for acrobatics, which she mixes with dance, according to her mother, Kristin Graham.
“Acro dance,”combining classical dance technique with precision acrobatic elements, was the medium in which she wowed the judges during her performance, which Miss Amazing organizers and participants refer to as a “passion presentation.”
Set to “Better When I’m Dancing” by Meghan Trainor, Jaylene performed her way to first place, but could only think of her friends who’d made the journey to Chicago with her, and how disappointed they must have been not to have won.
“I was really proud of myself, I was also very sad for my friends, I thought they would have won instead,” she said.
But she displayed her joy when called back onstage to be recognized as the winner in her age category.
“She was glowing, hand over mouth — she just said, ‘I can’t believe I won,’” her mother said.
Her empathy towards others ties in with how she would like to fulfill her obligations to the Miss Amazing program, which requires its reigning queens to perform advocacy throughout their communities.
While in Chicago Jaylene met author Amy Logan, whose children’s book, “A Girl With A Cape” is about lifting the spirits of others through acts of kindness, demonstrated by a little girl who dons a scarf and becomes a kind of superhero who does nice things for the people she encounters.
Logan, who tours schools across the country to read the book to children, made quite the impact on Jaylene when she read it to her, Graham said.
“She wants to take that book and read to Girl Scout troops, library groups, at nursing homes, possibly elementary classrooms — it will give her a chance to talk about her disability,” she said.
Jaylene struggles with social skills due to ADHD, often blurting out what’s on her mind.
“It’s still a struggle when her impulsiveness takes over,” Graham said. “Her brain isn’t wired like ours. When she was little she always told me, ‘I can’t help it — mom, I just have to say it.’ ”
While ADHD is classified as a disability, Jaylene’s mother doesn’t necessarily see it that way.
“Sometimes I think it’s actually her strength,” Graham said. “She looks at the world a little deeper than surface value. She sees it as her disability, I see it as her ability.”
And, perhaps, a pathway in which to help others.
“I can go over and talk to them and help them be happy and smile,” Jaylene said.
Kevin Duffy is a freelance writer for The Morning Call.