Autistic Teen Competes with Best
By: Kayleigh Klaustermeier
Updated: July 28, 2010
Kelsey Fontenot is from St. Francis Ville, LA. At seventeen years old she takes on more responsibilities than most her age, and she's Autistic. Early on, baseball and soccer didn’t interest Kelsey; she had something much bigger in mind. She spends her free time getting six Brahman cows show ready, and it’s no easy task.
"We wash them, we brush them, and we feed them and feed the water. It’s a lot of hard work," says Kelsey.
Autism doesn't bring Kelsey down; instead it’s giving her a unique advantage. Her connection with animals is something her mom noticed from an early age.
"They’d cut up and act up and Kelsey could walk in the barn and they all just drop their heads and their ears and they're all like ‘Kelsey is here!" says mom,Deanna.
Competing has even allowed her to make lots of lasting friendships. You don't have to look far to find one of these friends, just check in the next stall.
"Our families show together, travel together since we were both very little," says friend of Kelsey, Brooke Prather.
Her friends have noticed just how much she has grown through the years and not only as a competitor. Her attitude toward others has changed too.
"She’s always really shy but now she's like one of us and she just hangs out, comes to us with all sorts of things and she's not afraid to meet strangers," says Prather.
