Successful People

Thought to have

Disabilities

Tom Cruise

• Tom Cruise is unable to read due to severe

dyslexia. He memorizes his lines by

listening to them on tape.

“Just wanna serve my country,be the best fighter pilot in the navy, Sir.”

Tom Cruise’s road was never paved.It was always full of potholes, and he jumped over all of them.

Don SemponUS movie

producer

Thomas Alva Edison• Edison could not read

until he was 12 years old. He had very poor writing skills.

• His inventions included the telegraph, telephone and electric generator. He also improved the light bulb and produced a practical, incandescent, electric light. He is known as the “father of electric light.”

George WashingtonFirst President of the United States

• George Washington was unable to spell and had very poor grammar usage. His brother suggested that surveying in the back woods might be an appropriate career for him.

Jay LenoComedian, Tonight Show Host

• Jay Leno has mild dyslexia.

• “One thing about mildly dyslexic people-they’re good at setting everything else aside to pursue one goal. I go five nights a week every week, no days off, no sick days. Can you wear thin that way? Maybe.”

James Earl JonesActor, Spokesman

• James Earl Jones is an actor. He’s been in several movies.

• He is currently the spokesman for Verizon.

• He stuttered between the ages of 6 and 14.

• Although he does not stutter now, he does not consider himself “cured.” His feeling is that once you are a stutterer, you are always a stutterer.

James Earl Jones was the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars

“I feel no flattery when people speak of my voice. I’m simply grateful that I

found a way to work around my impairment.

Once a stutterer, always a stutterer.”

James Earl Jones

Billy Bob ThorntonActor

• Billy Bob Thornton has both dyslexia and ADD.

• He learns his lines by having friends repeatedly read them aloud.

• He was diagnosed in his 30s.

Whoopi GoldbergActress, Comedian

• Whoopi Goldberg has stared in numerous movies, including Ghost, Sister Act, and The Color Purple, (for which she won a Best Actress Golden Globe Award and an Oscar nomination.)

• She currently stars in Whoopi’s Littleburg on Nick Jr.

• Whoopi Goldberg is learning disabled.

Robin WilliamsActor, comedian

• Robin Williams has been successful in both television and movies.

• He was Mork from Ork in the hit series “Mork and Mindy” from 1978-1982.

• He has had roles in numerous movies, including Good Morning Vietnam, The Fisher King, Dead Poet’s Society, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Aladdin.

Robin Williams has ADHD.

Walt DisneyCartoonist

• Walt Disney was not successful in school.

• He became a famous cartoonist, inventing characters like Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy and Pluto.

• It is a myth that Walt suffered from dyslexia. Any problems that he had in school were probably tied to his intense work schedule and the fact that he had to get up very early to deliver newspapers for his father.

Albert EinsteinFamous Scientist

• Albert Einstein did not speak until the age of 3.

• His teachers considered him to be mentally slow, unsociable and a dreamer.

• He developed the theory of relativity.

• Einstein won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921.

• It is a myth that Albert Einstein was learning disabled.

Albert Einstein Nelson Rockefeller Galileo

Thomas Edison Sylvester Stallone Mozart

Gen. George Patton Wright Brothers Leonardo da Vinci

John F. Kennedy Cher Whoppi Goldberg

Bruce Jenner Gen. Westmoreland Tom Cruise

Eddie Rickenbacker Charles Schwab Henry Winkler

Harry Belafonte Danny Glover F. Scott Fitzgerald

Walt Disney John Lennon Robin Williams

Steve McQueen Greg Louganis Louis Pasteur

George C. Scott Winston Chruchill Werner von Braun

Tom Smothers Henry Ford Dwight D. Eisenhower

Suzanne Somers Robert Kennedy Lindsay Wagner

Jules Verne George Bernard Shaw Alexander Graham Bell

"Magic Johnson" Beethoven Woodrow Wilson

Carl Lewis Hans Christian Anderson Wrigley

Famous PeopleWith Attention Deficit 

and Learning Disorders

(Although, not all these famous people have been "officially diagnosed" they have exhibited many of the signs of ADD, ADHD & LD).

childdevelopmentinfo.com/disorders/famous.shtml

Although, not all these famous people have been "officially diagnosed," they have exhibited many of the signsof ADD, AD/HD & LD. The point of this list is to inspire those of us who have similar challenges. We thank the Kitty PettyADD/LD Institute for this valuable contribution to One A.D.D. Place. Some of these may be a repeat from the previous slide.

Albert EinsteinGalileoMozartWright BrothersLeonardo da VinciCherBruce JennerTom CruiseCharles SchwabHenry WinklerDanny GloverWalt DisneyJohn LennonGreg LouganisWinston ChurchillHenry FordStephen HawkingsJules VerneAlexander Graham BellWoodrow WilsonHans Christian AndersonNelson Rockefeller

Thomas EdisonGen. George PattonAgatha ChristieJohn F. KennedyWhoopi GoldbergRodinThomas ThoreauDavid H. MurdockDustin HoffmanPete RoseRussell WhiteJason KiddRussell VarianRobin WilliamsLouis PasteurWerner von BraunDwight D. EisenhowerRobert KennedyLuci Baines Johnson NugentGeorge Bush's childrenPrince Charles

Gen. WestmorelandEddie RickenbackerGregory BoyingtonHarry BelafonteF. Scott FitzgeraldMariel HemingwaySteve McQueenGeorge C. ScottTom SmothersSuzanne SomersLindsay WagnerGeorge Bernard ShawBeethovenCarl LewisJackie Stewart"Magic" JohnsonWeyerhauser familyWrigleyJohn CorcoranSylvester Stallone

www.oneaddplace.com/famous.htm

These are just a few web sites about learning disabilities. There are many more.

www.familyvillage.wisc.edu/general/famous.html

www.masspac.org/awareness/celebrities.htm

www.disabilitycentral.com/activteen/gameroom/trivia/celebrity_trivia_1.html

www.ldpride.net

www.ldonline.com

Many successful people struggle with disabilities. They

have learned to overcome them, or at least work around

them.

We all have strengths and weaknesses.

With hard work, patience, and perseverance, we can

all be successful.