With cancer at age 3, Alexis wanted to share her story with the world — as a cartoon.
Alexis' wish was to make a cartoon to inspire other kids with leukemia to be brave.
Soon after her third birthday, Alexis was diagnosed with leukemia.
It began when she was sent home from daycare with a fever. Angela, her mother, noticed Alexis seemed tired and pale. Once doctors noticed tiny red spots on Alexis' skin, they ran a few tests and discovered Alexis had acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
All illustrations and photos from Alexis' Wish/Make-A-Wish AKWA/YouTube.
Her family was contacted by Make-A-Wish Alaska and Washington. Her wish? To make a cartoon about her cancer.
It's been nearly three years after Alexis's treatment began. She's now finished with chemotherapy, pills, and constant trips to the doctor — her leukemia is at bay, and her life is returning to normal. So when Alexis and her family were contacted about a wish, she told them she wanted to make a cartoon to inspire others with pediatric cancer to be brave even when they're scared.
And so Make-A-Wish, teaming up with a Seattle creative agency, set off to make her dream come true.
Alexis met up with the folks at the agency World Famousto discuss her story. While there, she helped design what her character would look like and what type of story she wanted to tell.
They decided to tell the story of Princess Alexis and how she escaped Kemia the dragon.
Kemia was lurking in the Marrow Woods as Princess Alexis played nearby. The dragon swooped in and locked her away in a castle. To escape the castle, Princess Alexis must find a magic wand hidden within its basement. Though the wand will take Princess Alexis' beautiful hair and her strength, it's what she must use to defeat Kemia and escape the castle.
In other words, it's adorable, and it made me tear up the first time I watched it.
Once the animation was finished, Alexis was off to the recording studio to give her character a voice.
With a script, a microphone, and some time, Alexis and her mother both read lines to be included in the final product.
An estimated 2,670 children age 14 and younger will be diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia this year.
It's the most common form of childhood leukemia. Luckily, it's pretty treatable, with a five-year survival rate of more than 85%.
And now here's where you (yes, you) come in to help Alexis' wish: Watch her cartoon and share it with the world.
"Help us make Alexis's wish gain worldwide attention to raise awareness of pediatric cancer by forwarding the link to her video via social media," Make-A-Wish's website says. Below, you'll find the video. It's adorable and well-worth watching and sharing.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."