Famous People With Dyslexia Who Strived To Overcome Their Weakness

There are famous personalities in almost all fields, who have suffered from dyslexia and have strived to make their mark in the respective fields. Be it sports, entertainment, politics and academia. These are some of the most brilliant thinkers and artists with extraordinary will and determination.Dyslexia is a form of learning disability that weakens person’s ability to comprehend accurately and speak fluently when reading and communicating.  It poses difficulty in phonological decoding, phonological awareness, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory and rapid naming. It is believed that dyslexia affects almost 5 to 10 percent of population. There are three subtypes of dyslexia: auditory, visual and attention related. The most common form of dyslexia is reading disability. One needs to understand that just because a student is diagnosed with learning disability doesn't mean that he or she can't succeed in the world.

Some of the famous people who belong to this league are - Sylvester Stallone, Cher, Tom Cruise, Mozart and Robin Williams; enlisted as being famous in the field of art. Tom Cruise, very popular Hollywood actor, struggled with his disability. He admits that he has grown up with reading disability, where he faced problem with written words appearing to be omitted, distorted and modified.

Napoleon Bonaparte is also known to be afflicted with dyslexia. Another great personality was Winston Churchill, who led Great Britain during World War II. He suffered from speech impediment from the childhood. He could not learn alphabet until the age of nine and was unable to read till the age of twelve.

One of the geniuses and greatest mathematician - Albert Einstein also suffered from this disability. He was a 'below average' student at school. He could not speak until he was three and was very weak in Math.  Other known geniuses are - Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison. Edison found difficulty in reading until he was twelve and in writing, even after that. Some of the famous business Entrepreneurs like Richard Branson, David Neeleman and Charles Schwab were also dyslexics. The list is endless but all have one thing in common their determination to excel fighting all odds.

Some of the common symptoms in dyslexics are - feelings of shame, fear, depression and loneliness.  Recent bollywood movie - "Taarein Zameen Par", highlighted learning disabilities and helped in creating awareness about it.However, this disorder can be treated by the use of proper teaching methods and therapy. By simply providing early assistance in studies, like helping a dyslexic child to solve small math problem or word associated problems.

Sparsh Children Dazzle on World Disability Day

In India over 7 million people are disabled and unfortunately no special policies are crafted for this particular challenged segment, which still remains oppressed and isolated. Disabled people are often victim of discrimination. It is the society which needs to take adequate steps to involve them in the mainstream; making them part of the social, political, economic and cultural aspects of the community.

Every year 3rd December is observed as International Disability Day or World Disability Day. Several schools, NGO’s, government bodies and even corporate houses organize numerous events to express their solidarity with disabled people.

On this day, Sparsh an NGO organized an event to encourage the abilities of the differently abled and to honor their talents. The motive of the event was to make people aware of the fact that even special children have special talents and also, to draw the attention of the policy makers towards the issues and problems faced by disabled in the society and also to increase public awareness about it.

Present at the event were eminent guests including Smt. Arti Mehra (Former Mayor, Delhi) and Mrs. Kiran Chopra (Founder, Varisht Nagrik Kesari Club) who gave an awe-inspiring speech stimulating the audiences. Chairperson of Presidium and Mother’s Pride and Chief mentor of Sparsh, Mrs. Sudha Gupta and President of Sparsh, Mr M.P Singh also expressed their happiness of being committed towards such a special cause.

Special children of Sparsh gave extraordinary performance on ‘Jai Ho’ that left audience mesmerized. Their presentation touched the hearts of the parents and relatives of the special children. Many of them were proud to see their child performing so brilliantly on the stage.

The girls of 'Project Shakti' also enthralled everyone with their beautifully choreographed performance. The children of Savera Special School were awarded with medals for winning various positions in the Sport’s event held recently at the school. Also, they were rewarded for making noteworthy efforts in making Touch of Heaven products.

The applause was never ending as audience supported and encouraged the special children on the stage. The beautiful expressions on the faces of these special children created an aura of happiness.The show gracefully concluded with refreshments for everyone. The efforts and dedication of the children was admired by everyone and the message behind World Disability Day was well delivered.