Miss You Can Do It is an HBO documentary about a beauty pageant for girls with special needs; it premieres tonight at 9 ET/8 CT. Abbey Curran, Miss Iowa 2008 in the Miss Universe pageant, started it ten years ago. She has cerebral palsy, and wanted to open doors for girls who might otherwise not have the opportunity to participate in pageants. Because let’s face it, as much as parents of kids with special needs hope the world will welcome our children, the reality is that inclusion is still a major work in progress—especially in the world of beauty pageants.
That’s why this pageant, and this movie, rock. I’m not saying every one of us wants to enter their kid in a beauty pageant. But the heart of this movie is about empowerment, and about the ability behind the disability—something every one of us wants for our children, and for the world to see.
And so….
IF you want to watch one seriously inspiring film about girls with special needs…
IF you want to show your own child other kids like herself going for their dreams…
IF you want your own child to see a woman with cerebral palsy accomplishing amazing things (in cute shoes!)…
IF you want your other children who don’t have disabilities to better understand what kids with special needs are capable of…
IF you want to relate to parents saying things like “I just want kids to treat her like their equal…”
IF you want to see children with disabilities beaming with pride…
IF you want to see their parents beaming with pride, too….
IF you like to cry at movies (but in a good way)…
Then watch this documentary.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeKQRcyNuO8
From my other blog:
A Bill of Rights for parents of kids with special needs
How did you decide on having another kid?
Toys aren’t us: Dealing with special needs parent buying compulsion
Image: Screen grab/HBO Miss You Can Do It