Miss Texas advocates for autism awareness in law enforcement

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Annette Addo-Yobo was crowned Miss Texas 2024 in June. She uses her platform to advocate for the autistic community and teach others about neurodiversity.

Her passion stems from helping raise her little brother Andrew, a person with autism.

Just weeks before the Miss America pageant, Addo-Yobo traveled to Rusk County to present in front of a mixed group of law enforcement agencies looking to learn more about how to identify and approach people with autism in their field of work.

“Getting to speak to Sheriff Valdez and hearing the concerns he had and just the passion that he had to make sure that his officers, his team, his community was equipped with what they needed to address some of the concerns in their county, it was a no-brainer for me to make the drive,” said Addo-Yobo.

Her presentation came as a bit of a surprise according to Rusk County Sheriff Johnwayne Valdez. In his time as sheriff, he recalled several incidents involving people with autism that his team was unequipped or unprepared to approach.

One afternoon, he got a text from a Dallas area code talking to him about autism awareness. It was the same day he reached out to Autism Speaks to order autism awareness car stickers for the 162 students with autism in Rusk County.

“We start talking about this autism class. I thought it was the lady from Autism Speaks, and halfway through this conversation she said ‘oh, by the way, I’m the reigning Miss Texas,’” Valdez recalled.

During the presentation, Addo-Yobo talked about identifying autism, communication skills and even de-escalation tactics.

Audience members participated in scenarios to practice the skills.