The Formby-born winner of Miss Pageant Girl UK says she wants to tackle the "judgement" her younger sister faces for having speaking and communication difficulties.
Libby Smith, who became the youngest ever winner of the competition last July, is educating others about speech communication needs via a podcast, a self-published book and fundraising for charity. Her sister, Lexi, aged 11, receives specialist education at The Pines at Redgate Primary School.
Libby said it can be hard to see what her sister has to experience with severe speech delay and global developmental delay. The 22-year-old said: "When we're out in public sometimes just the way she is and she's just very friendly and she like, she loves to go and chat to people. Some people maybe can't quite understand her the way I can.
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"She does kind of face quite a lot of judgement when she's out and about and that it's quite hard for me to see. So I really wanted to try and turn it into a positive, that's why I wrote the book about her."
Lexi inspired Libby to write Little Miss Speechless, highlighting the experiences of her sister and other children with similar needs in a positive way. She now reads the book aloud at primary schools in Merseyside, including Redgate.
She added: "It makes it more interactive. I know children learn a lot through storytelling, so I thought it was a fun way to raise awareness." 100% of the books' profits go to I CAN CHARITY, an organisation which supports children with speech, language and communication difficulties. Libby has also raised £400 for I CAN separately via several fundraising events.
In addition, she hosts the podcast Time For Talk, where Libby speaks to experts on speech delay from the UK and around the world. She said: "It's been a real help in removing stigma and raising awareness as well."
Her main aim is to educate others on how people like her sister think and understand others. She added: "I want people to understand that, just because a child or teenager or an adult has speech communication difficulties, it doesn't mean they are any less intelligent than someone who doesn't have it, or that they lack they emotional ability to understand what we're going through.
"Just because my sister can't communicate as well as others doesn't mean she can't understand everything I'm saying. My sister is very supportive and honestly, sometimes she acts older than I am. I like to get that message out there."
Libby credits her winning the beauty pageant for being crucial to her charity work. She said: "Being someone who has never won a big competition until last year, you gain so much more than just a crown. It gives me a much bigger platform to promote all the charity work I do."
She has been entering pageants since she was 13, experiences which she credits with the inner belief she has in herself. Libby added: "You make friends and just build that confidence in yourself doing it. I think it definitely has helped me a lot in different areas of my life, like interviews and public speaking."
Libby wants to continue reading her book around schools and continue to promote related causes. The biggest reward for her in all of this is making Lexi happy. She said: "When I published the book and took it into her school, she was going around showing her friends, telling them that it was about her. I think she really loved that.
"She was also there when I won the pageant in July. She was so happy. One of my favourite things was afterwards, when she came on stage and I gave her a proper hug. She was just so happy about it."
You can learn more about Libby's work by visiting Time For Talk's Instagram page.
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