Littlest Lady Alyssa is Spreading Kindness

Meet a young autistic girl who uses her voice to advocate for kindness in a world that is quick to scorn the differences of others.

Kindness matters one heart at a time. This is my motto for my social movement Littlest
Lady Cares. Hello, my name is Alyssa, but my nickname is Littlest Lady. I am the youngest of
four girls. I am nine years old, an active Girl Scout, and a Christian. I was diagnosed with autism at eight years old.

Most kids my age would think autism is scary, but I think it’s pretty awesome. At times, it’s not so awesome. I have a hard time maintaining friendships with peers because I have trouble understanding social cues. Unfortunately, I was bullied because I have autism.

The last time upset me. I was bullied at school on the playground by my classmates. They made fun of me because I am not like them. I often prefer to play alone, roll down the grassy hills, spin in circles, or play in the mulch instead of playing with them. I was told I was weird, different, and slow. Even though these words do not define who I am, the words still brought tears to my eyes and upset me.

As a strong Christian, I was always taught to lean on my faith in difficult situations, always be kind to those I know, and to turn a negative situation into a positive one. After a long conversation with my mama, she reminded me that we should always be kind to others despite the circumstances.

What is Littlest Lady Cares?

Littlest Lady Cares was created in March 2021. I currently have over 350 members in my group. Littlest Lady Cares is a public Facebook group dedicated to kindness.

I wanted to share the simple message that kindness matters all around the world; it doesn’t matter how old you are. Being kind to everyone is a free gesture, that anyone can practice on
a daily basis, no matter how big or small the gesture is. I feel this is often overlooked in society today and everyone is too busy to stop and be kind to someone. All it takes is a few seconds to make a small difference in someone’s life; to bring them hope and joy.

Just like kindness rocks (rocks painted with inspirational messages left for others to find or hide), I created kindness hearts. The hearts have simple messages on one side, and Littlest Lady Cares information on the other—this makes it easy to find my group on Facebook.

People have the option to share a picture of themselves with a heart, or even where they found a heart. They can even opt to join my group, but it’s not necessary if this makes them uncomfortable. My hope is that they join my group, and read the kind messages my mama and I post.

I enjoy interacting with my members as it gives me a chance to practice my social skills and form friendships with others who share my interest: kindness. I spread kindness in communities around me as well as around the world by placing the hearts in public places. I also send out hearts to others on my Facebook group who request them by filling out a simple Google form I created.

I have sent heart requests to over 85 people who live in the United States, Canada,United Kingdom, Guam, and Australia. Littlest Lady Cares has grown to be as big as it is by word of mouth, and people finding my hearts in communities.

I never thought my little social movement would grow this big and gain attention from individuals of all ages. I am just a nine-year-old girl who is passionate about spreading kindness.

I’m not only spreading kindness but also teaching others about being kind. I love the reaction in handing someone one of my kind hearts. It’s the smiles, the friendships I make, and the impact I have on others that makes me love my social movement even more.

Right now Littlest Lady Cares is only on two social media platforms: Facebook and Instagram. I recently added Instagram (@littlestladycares), but in the future I hope to have my own website. I recently designed my own logo with help from a local business.

For my business expenses, I use some of my own money that I’ve earned from chores. My mama also helped me to cover the cost of making the hearts, postage, and shipping materials. I am in the process of organizing my first fundraiser to help offset future costs of Littlest Lady Cares. I designed t-shirts for children and adults, tote bags, and logo stickers.

I can’t wait to see how my social movement grows. I hope it will make others choose kindness over bullying, which is the reason I chose to start this movement. I know that if someone is mean or bullies me, I should reply in kindness instead of being sad, to model kind behavior.

Please help my movement grow so that we can stop the bullying of people who are different. Being different is special. Kindness is a gift. Always choose kindness