Allista Atkisson
Alli, 17, wants everyone to be her new best friend. This outgoing and talkative teenager lives with Down syndrome and enjoys pizza, music, movies and Starbuck’s – just like every other teenager.
Alli loves singing along to music videos and compares herself to Adele, Carrie Underwood and her favorite jazz singer, Julie London.
This Festus girl is currently being home schooled and loves participating in equine training at Helping Hands and Horses. “Her” horse, Speck, is very special to her. This summer Alli worked on her independence by taking a finance and nutrition class at Disability Resource Association.
Down syndrome is the most common genetic chromosomal disorder and is caused when abnormal cell division results in extra genetic material from chromosome 21. This genetic disorder, which can vary in severity, causes lifelong intellectual disability and developmental delays, and in some, it causes health problems.
As Allista continues to work on her self-confidence and independence she will surely make her mom, Deana Novak, very proud.