A teen with autism has been crowned a beauty queen - after judges saw just a photograph of her.
Jada Braxton, 17, won the Miss Photogenic title at the Miss Saraland pageant in her home state of Alabama, US.
Diagnosed with autism aged seven, she struggles to look people in the eye and submitted her entry to the pageant with a stunning photo of herself beaming.
Now wearing her title with pride, Jada wants other autistic girls to know "that they have a voice."
After her daughter's big win, Jada's mum Danisha said the verdict was "outstanding" given that the judges only used a photo of her.
She said: "By her winning Miss Photogenic, she is a face now to autism.
"This is autism, this is what autism looks like."
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Proud Danisha also wrote about Jada's success on Instagram, posting a heartfelt message to her daughter.
She wrote: "You refuse to be labelled. You refuse to be held to limits."
Danisha added she reckoned the judges would be "shocked" if they knew the person they'd chosen as Miss Photogenic had special needs.
She recalled a chat she'd had with Jada about entering a beauty pageant in a heartwarming exchange.
Danisha reported her daughter said: "Mom I want other autistic girls to know that they can do this too."
Describing her daughter as a "shining light," she praised Jada for showing people that those living with special needs "just want to be included and accepted."
She wrote: "You are truly LOVE. You are an inspiration to so many people. You do not let your autism stop you from dreaming and achieving. It is such an honour and a blessing to be your mum.
"The outpouring love and support that she has received this past week has been AMAZING. From the bottom of our hearts... Jada and I thank you all."
After Jada was crowned Miss Photogenic, Danisha also wrote an essay on autismspeaks.com called, 'Jada B: Shattering misconceptions in the autism community.'
In the essay, she wrote: "Jada... knows that she is more than just a girl with autism."
Recalling what her daughter was like as a tot, Danisha said Jada knew all her colours and could count to 100 before starting school.
But one day, out of nowhere, she stopped being able to count to 10 and couldn't sing the alphabet. She also wanted to do everything according to a strict routine, and if that routine wasn't followed it led to "a complete meltdown."
Danisha wrote: "I’m not talking about your typical toddler temper tantrum. I knew then that something was wrong."
After Jada received her diagnosis, Danisha sought out occupational, nutritional and speech therapy to help her daughter reach milestones.
She wrote: "Ten years later, all the therapy helped tremendously. The best advice that I would give to other parents is to do the research."
