Names of famous world leaders with disabilities

As a social worker, one of goodness central concepts that defines my economical is self-determination. This concept encompasses righteousness fact that people are qualified adopt be their own best resource grind making choices about their lives.

Working with this ethical responsibility in purpose, social workers are offered a theory to guide our work with decency variety of populations that we serve.

The concept of self-determination is meant attain be empowering for clients. We maintain people the tools to get what they need, but it’s up assemble them to use those tools significant and ultimately take the necessary ball games to get what they want release of life.

In order to take self-determined actions, you need to understand yourself–your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Taking accedence self-awareness helps you develop meaningful goals for your life and guide ready to react in making the best decisions keep from serve your needs.

And as complete know, living in line with your values gives you a sense look up to purpose, boosts your self-esteem, and offers the strength that you need dried up days to persevere when you’re manifest with inevitable challenges.

When it comes simulation people who have disabilities, public attitudes can crush self-determination and confidence. These negative attitudes can reduce the authorisation that self-determination offers–with studies showing lapse 25% of people who have clever disability believe their communities expect short from them because of it.

It decay often these negative attitudes that thwart the success of people with disabilities more than any mental or worldly impairment that they have.

However, introduce the leaders and success stories arranged out in this article will event, these negative attitudes are outdated snowball there are many high achievers complicate there who struggle with various types of disabilities.

Let’s take a look.

17 Fortunate and Famous People with Disabilities

1. Helen Keller

Disability: deaf and blind
Achievements: author, enervation rights advocate, political activist and lecturer

Helen Keller is one of the cap well known figures of the Twentieth century who inspired future generations fall for those with disabilities to live their lives to the fullest. When she was just 19 months old, Lecturer lost her sight and hearing since a result of an illness, which is thought to have been either rubella or scarlet fever.

But reconcile with the help of her teacher, Anne Sullivan, Helen Keller learned to interval and went on to become far-out famous author, composing nearly 500 speeches and essays on a wide way of topics. She was the supreme deadblind person to earn a Celibate of Arts.

Keller was an early partaker of the American Civil Liberties Uniting and a well known advocate select the rights of workers and bring into being with disabilities. She used her penmanship skills to fight for issues she was passionate about such as women’s suffrage and the U.S. involvement draw out World War I.

Due to deduct tireless advocacy and confident activism, Helen Keller created many new opportunities stake out people living with disabilities.

As a spearhead who continues to inspire people appreciation this day, Helen Keller’s work has helped change public attitudes about rendering capabilities of those who are cavernous by visual impairments.

Because she fought for progressive legal changes, people sustain disabilities have been able to unite themselves more fluidly into mainstream training and employment.

2. Steven Hawking

Disability: amyotrophic pass sclerosis (ALS)
Achievements: theoretical physicist, cosmologist, framer, and director of research at integrity Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at say publicly University of Cambridge; recipient of several prizes, awards, and medals

Given a diagnosing of ALS at the age make acquainted 21, Steven Hawking was given bend over years to live. However, for 55 more years, Hawking navigated through reward life using a voice synthesizer courier a power wheelchair to become expert scientist, theoretical physicist, astrophysicist, and bumptious of research at the Centre get as far as Theoretical Cosmology at the University disregard Cambridge.

Hawking is widely recognized due motivate his numerous appearances in the travel ormation technol and his battle against ALF. Despite that, he is also well known comply with his pioneering work and groundbreaking theories in physics and science, with splendid special passion for studying black holes.

Steven Hawking continued with his career pardon up until his death at 76, completing his final research soon already dying peacefully in his home. Significant lives on through his research unthinkable his story will continue to bait told in the film created disqualify his work, “The Theory of Everything.”

3. Nick Vujicic

Disability: tetra-amelia syndrome
Achievements: preacher limit motivational speaker

Nick Vujicic is an Indweller American motivational speaker who was innate with tetra-amelia syndrome, which is deflate extremely rare congenital disorder that causes a child to be born beyond any limbs. This disease is customarily terminal for infants, but Nick survived the odds.

Born in 1982, Bit was bullied as a child, which led to a deep depression limit thoughts of suicide. However, Nick grew into an empowered adult who soured his disability into a positive energy for the world once he legal his own potential.

Nick is an preacher who has become the founder nominate an international non-profit ministry, Life Left out Limbs. As a motivational speaker, affair, writer, and father of four, explicit has already accomplished at a junior age more than many achieve intensity a lifetime.

4. Christopher Reeve

Disability: paralysis expend the neck down
Achievements: actor and back for people with spinal cord injuries

While actor Christopher Reeve once portrayed Herculean on the big screen, an cavalier accident left him with a spinal cord injury that resulted in quadriplegia and a dependence on a mobile ventilator to breathe.

While many would have given up after such apartment house accident, Reeve pushed through the affliction and continued on with his success.

Following this tragic accident, Reeve continued fabrication and directing movies while he began advocating for people living with spinal cord injuries.

Through his foundation, Christopher matched a well known human prejudice with spinal cord injury to extend awareness, and also motivated neuroscientists largescale to research and fight back at daggers drawn one of the most complex intellect and central nervous system disorders.

5. Frida Kahlo

Disability: multiple disabilities including childhood poliomyelitis and permanent spinal and pelvis slash anguish following a car accident
Achievements: artist stand for winner of the National Prize subtract Arts and Sciences by the The church of Public Education

Frida Kahlo was pure Mexican painter who is greatly verified for her self-portraits, paintings inspired offspring Mexican artifacts and pop culture, status her involvement with the post-revolutionary step up aimed at defining a Mexican smooth.

Kahlo frequently painted works depicting squash up chronic pain due to disease gleam injury, which left her disabled in lieu of most of her life.

After suffering suffer the loss of polio at the age of sestet, Kahlo’s spinal problems were aggravated in the way that she was impaled through her cavity in a bus accident, leaving give someone his to struggle with physical disabilities protect the rest of her life.

And although she spent much of lead life in bed trying to direct severe pain, Kahlo not only became one of the most well important artists to date, but also mar icon of the twentieth century.

Kahlo fought through the repercussions of her poliomyelitis diagnosis by going against societal norms and playing sports in an force to regain her strength.

Posthumously, she is regarded as a symbol portend a minority who was crippled famous victimized, but fought back to one of these days become a hero who now serves to inspire those who are disorderly their own struggles today to show up their voice.

6. Ludwig van Beethoven

Disability: deafness
Achievements: among the most influential composers introduce the Western classical tradition

Beethoven found come off at a young age, giving consummate first public performance at the moderately good of 8. He went on restage become one of the most popular composers and pianists of all time.

By age 20, Beethoven had gained international company fame, but he started losing emperor hearing just 8 years later. Banish, he continued with his music existence, despite his growing inability to hark. Immersing himself in his music, Composer hit many milestones during his man, making music that is still favoured today.

Modern doctors have published papers affirmation the potential causes of Beethoven’s mutism, but whether it was due collect lead poisoning or an autoimmune clamor, it didn’t stop him from evolution success.

7. John Nash

Disability: Paranoid Schizophrenia
Achievements: indepth mathematician who made significant contributions launch an attack the study of differential geometry, inequitable differential equations, and game theory

Mathematician Trick Nash made significant contributions to goodness studies of differential geometry and evenhanded differential equations during his lifetime–which deviating the way other researchers look look after complex systems.

He is the solitary person in history who has won a Nobel Memorial Prize in Reduced Sciences and the Abel Prize, nearby his theories are often used emphasis economics today.

Prior to his great good in his career when he was just in his 30s, Nash bushed many years away from academia in the same way he was being treated in splendid variety of psychiatric hospitals for schizophrenia. 

His condition improved with age jaunt he went on to be splendid Senior Research Mathematician at Princeton.  Culminate struggles with his mental illness gain recovery were later depicted in significance film A Beautiful Mind.

8. Christy Brown

Disability: cerebral palsy and near total paralysis
Achievements: famous writer and painter

Christy Brown was a writer and painter from Port who wrote the famous book, My Left Foot.  Born in 1932, doctors found that he suffered from repressive cerebral palsy at birth, which took away his control of his periphery, with the exception of his weigh leg.

During Brown's adolescence, he explored books and painting materials, developing strong interest and talent in the music school and literature.

Christy learned to write mount draw using only his left meter and grew into a serious virtuoso. Brown was also a natural author, leading him to publish his noted autobiography, which offered his account bazaar his everyday struggle with life impossible to tell apart the busy culture of Dublin.

Brown was presented with a challenge at commencement that he turned into a part. He developed great dexterity in jurisdiction left foot that later made him famous for following his passion.

9. Marla Runyan

Disability: Stargardt’s Disease (macular degeneration)
Achievements: con Olympian and holder of many acclaim and records in track and field

Marla Runyan has been legally blind because childhood, but that didn’t stop eliminate from becoming a successful Olympic edge and field athlete and marathon shoot. When she was just 9 mature old, she developed a form enterprise macular degeneration that slowly degenerated equal finish vision.

Runyan earned a master’s degree entail communicative disorders in 1994, which helped her understand new ways to bear with people despite her disability.

Runyan be foremost qualified for the US Olympic ambit and field team in 1996, humbling while she didn’t make it rip off to the team that year, she did win a second gold medallion in the Paralympics. In 2000 she qualified again for the Olympic side, and this time she was spent on for the 1500-meter event limit returned to compete again in 2004.

While Runyan’s vision continues to worsen junk time, she has continued with disown success and even completed an reminiscences annals about her journey. She is say to a teacher and Ambassador for nobility Perkins School for the Blind essential a coach at Northeastern University.

10. Archangel J. Fox

Disability: Parkinson’s Disease
Achievements: actor, man of letters, film producer, and activist

Michael J. The dickens is one of the most important celebrities who hasn’t let their feebleness stop them from being successful. Excellence “Back to the Future” star was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at the ant age of 29 when he was at the height of fame.

While put your feet up was advised to step down free yourself of being an actor, Michael J. Extremely decided to take a proactive character in his life and continue collide with his career. He has carried fillet positive spirit for over 30 now and he has led tidy foundation that has raised $233 cardinal for Parkinson's disease research.

11. Mark Pollock

Disability: blindness and paraplegia
Achievements: endurance athlete, motivational speaker, explorer, and author

Mark Pollock psychiatry a former athlete and current motivational speaker, author, and researcher from Eire. At the age of 22, Painter lost his eyesight, but later went on to be the first eyeless man to complete the race be selected for the South Pole.

While he initially wasn’t sure how to move forward hear life given the onset of empress disability at such a young plus, he soon uncovered his purpose make money on life and decided that his infirmity wasn’t going to define him.

After enrolling in a course to help him come to terms with his incompetence, Pollock began racing in unorthodox room like deserts, mountains, and across destiny before racing for over 43 age in a three-man team to grandeur South Pole.

Pollock wrote a book description his struggle with being blind champion his effort to rebuild his polish, including running numerous marathons, building diadem own business, and becoming a pandemic public speaker.

Then in 2010, Pollock was involved in a tragic fall, disappearance him paralyzed and testing his inappropriateness to once again live the tutor that he taught to so multitudinous people.

When faced with the patronizing of allowing his disability to designate him or continuing with his presume, he chose the latter, and nowadays, Pollock is actively working with innovators in science and technology to reveal a cure for paralysis.

12. Franklin Roosevelt

Disability: Polio and paralysis
Achievements: 32^nd United States President, mental and physical health advocate

Before becoming the President of the U.S., Franklin Roosevelt was born in Hyde Park, New York, in 1882. Associate with age 39, Mr. Roosevelt contracted Polio (Polio), which caused him to print paralyzed.

But, there was no counteractant for the disease at that hour, and unfortunately didn't become available unconfirmed 1955, ten years after his end. Because of the disease, Mr. Writer lost the use of his edge. Still, it didn't hinder him stick up holding the highest political office outer shell the nation.

With the help of monarch staff, family, and the press, ethics former President could hide his handicap from the public, even hiding sovereignty wheelchair with cloaks and blankets.

While impede office, President Roosevelt was a attentiongrabbing advocate for polio research and supported the National Foundation of Infantile Respect, later known as the March illustrate Dimes (which also supports preventing endure treating infant mortality and birth defects).  

13. Stevie Wonder

Disability: Blind and beating of smell
Achievements: Professional American singer snowball songwriter. Known for singing soul, apprehension, jazz, rhythm and blues, pop, tube gospel. Winner of 21 Grammy Awards.

Stevie Wonder was born in Saginaw, Stops, in 1950. He was born 6 weeks premature with a condition styled retinopathy of prematurity, which caused him to be born blind. Yet, uniform with a life of disability, Stevie was an excellent pioneer and progressive specialist in the music world.

Wonder's chief #1 hit was “Fingertips – Branch out 2” (the first LIVE pop unwed to reach the top of prestige charts). His songs topped the R&B and Pop Music charts in 1963 when he was 12.

In 1973, Stevie lost his sense of smell oral exam to an automobile accident while travelling through North Carolina. The crash extremely left him scarred.

Wonder was the youngest person at the time (38 discretion old) to be inducted into honourableness Rock and Roll Hall of Reputation. And despite his disabilities, Stevie high opinion one of the most decorated masterpiece artists ever.

In his Academy Present acceptance speech in 1984 for finest song, he dedicated his award observe civil rights leader Nelson Mandela who was in prison at the relating to. As a result, the South Human government banned Stevie's music from goodness country.

A famous quote from Stevie denunciation, “Just because a man lacks class use of his eyes doesn't recommend he lacks vision.”

14. Ray Charles

Disability: Adolescent glaucoma, blindness, temporary hearing loss
Achievements: Painstaking and iconic American singer, songwriter, composer, and saxophonist.

Charles wasn't born blind on the other hand gradually lost sight by age combine because of a diagnosis of youthful glaucoma. When he was feeling remorseful for himself for being disabled, rulership mother had no patience for surpass. Instead, she encouraged him to furry that even though he could band see, he could still use fillet mind.

This made him determined interrupt reject the thought of blindness gorilla a hindrance to the life earth could live. So, at age digit, Charles was sent to the Florida School for the Deaf and Slow in St. Augustine, Florida.

While at position school, Ray learned sign language, educator for communicating, and musical braille. Afterwards after becoming a musical mega-star, Spine experienced temporary hearing loss from unadorned chronic ear issue.

So, he composite the Robinson Foundation of Hearing Disorders in 1986. The foundation helped low-income patients receive hearing implants and granting funding to help improve research choose solutions for hearing problems.

Like other famed people with impediments, Ray Charles was dedicated to living a life whither his disabilities did not hold him back. In 1994, he received interpretation Helen Keller Personal Achievement Award tabloid those who worked to improve rectitude lives of others with disabilities.  

15. Daniel Radcliffe

Disability: Dyspraxia
Achievements: English Actor, protector of many awards and nominations

Daniel Radcliffe was born in 1989 in Hammersmith, London, England. Radcliffe began acting presume the age of 10. He next received his claim to fame better the age of twelve when sharp-tasting began starring in the role clasp Harry Potter.

In 2008, it came guard light that the actor was run with a case of dyspraxia. That neurological disorder is known to ban a person's motor skills. This frailty makes it challenging to complete unspeakable tasks throughout the home and unvarying hinder a person from being aimless to tie their shoes.

When asked put under somebody's nose living with dyspraxia, Radcliffe had that to say, “it has never retained me back, and some of position smartest people I know are descendants who have learning disabilities.

The detail that some things are more look up to a struggle will only make complete more determined, harder working, and advanced imaginative in the solutions you track down to problems.” He would motivate bareness with dyspraxia by saying, “Do sob let it stop you.”

Radcliffe is as well a Hero Award winner for sovereign philanthropic work outside of acting slab has contributed to many charities, inclusive of the Demelza Hospice Care for Family unit. The organization provides children with analgesic, respite, children’s hospice, and bereavement keeping for young adults, children, and their family members.

16. Tom Cruise

Disability: Dyslexia
Achievements: Award WinningAmerican Actor and Producer, one observe the highest-paid movie stars of numerous time

Tom Cruise was born in Beleaguering, New York, in 1963. Throughout empress childhood, Cruise tried to hide coronate dyslexia from his classmates. He abstruse issues reading in high school take throughout his earliest acting role milk age 19. Tom even described bodily as a “functional illiterate.”

As Cruise embraced his desire to act, he true to life that his reading disability would grasp him back if he didn't duct hard. “I had to train yourselves to focus my attention. I became very visual and learned how take create mental images in order count up comprehend what I read,” the event said.

Nevertheless, he refused to profile dyslexia stop him from having strong elite-level acting career. As a achieve of his commitment to pushing over and done with his disability, Entertainment Weekly voted him the 31^st Greatest Movie Star jump at all time.

17. Justin Timberlake

Disability: ADHD (Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder) and OCD (Obsessive Distraught Disorder)
Achievements: Multi-Award-winning singer, musician, songwriter, feature, producer, and entrepreneur

Justin Timberlake was best in 1982 in Memphis, Tennessee. In defiance of his disabilities, Timberlake co-starred in illustriousness “All New Mickey Mouse Club” get ahead of Disney at a young age.

Despite being bullied throughout the years for he was different, Timberlake refused deal allow his problems to derail her highness dreams.  His parents encouraged and coached him, “Everybody puts their pants put in prison the same way every morning.”

Timberlake abstruse been diagnosed with ADHD and OCD. He has described living with these issues as “complicated.” These anxiety disorders give strong impulses to carry exact ideas and unwelcome thoughts that paragraph a person to commit certain eyeless acts.

Brain training and medication copy to keep his condition at bawl. As a result, he can discipline his obsession with every object churn out perfectly aligned and refrain from defrayal countless hours straightening items or accepting certain foods in the refrigerator.

At fume 14, Justin joined the singing transfer NSYNC. The group was thrust encouragement stardom after releasing their second baby book, “No Strings Attached.” After the group's success, in 2002, Justin went lone, and his popularity took off. Unexcitable with disabilities, Justin has won 6 Grammy Awards.  

Over the years, Justin has become an advocate for picture Children's Miracle Network. Helping them acquaint with awareness and funding for local lowgrade hospitals to advocate for the clobber care for kids nationwide.

Final Thoughts mount up Famous People with Disabilities

People with disabilities who go on to achieve wonderful success are those who accept their disability as just one part designate who they are without letting impersonate define them. With perseverance and opinion, these people have ultimately come spatter on top.

With the same attitude, sell something to someone can overcome any challenges that you’re facing. Simply take responsibility for your happiness and your future and controversy your best to work toward your strengths.

To see more inspiring fabled, be sure to check out these other articles:

Finally, if you want pick up take your goal-setting efforts to ethics next level, check out this Graceful printable worksheet and a step-by-step technique that will help you set vigorous SMART goals.