Terence Parkin

PERSON WHO WAS SUCCESSFUL INSPITE OF DISABILITY

Terence Parkin

Many swimmers competed in multiple events during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.  One of them was Terence Parkin of South Africa.  Terence's events included the 200 and 400 meter individual medley, the 4x100 meter free relay, and the 100 and 200 meter breaststroke.  He swam in a total of eight different qualifying and final races in five days during the Olympics.  Terence finished fifth in the 400 meter individual medley.  In the 200 meter breaststroke, he finished second to win the silver medal.

What makes this 20-year-old Olympic swimmer somewhat unique is that he has never been able to hear a race starter's signal.  Born deaf, Terence uses a strobe light similar to a camera flash to signal the beginning of the race.  The Olympic competitor only began swimming at age 14.  Now he holds three national records in South Africa and owns a silver medal from the Sydney Olympics.

Geri Jewell and Marlee Matlin

PERSONS WHO ARE SUCCESSFUL INSPITE OF THEIR DISABILITY

Geri Jewell and Marlee Matlin

Geri Jewell is an actor and comedian born with cerebral palsy. She is most famous for her roles on The Facts of Life and HBO's Deadwood. Geri was awarded a National Rehabilitation Hospital Victory Award in 2006 and also works as a motivational speaker. Visit her website at http://www.gerijewell.com/.

Marlee Matlin is a stand-up comedian and an actress. Some of her films include Dead Silence, It's My Party, Hear No Evil, Bridge to Silence, Walker, and Children of A Lesser God. In 1987, she captivated the world by winning the Academy Award for Best Actress in the film Children of a Lesser God.

Marlee Matlin became deaf in infancy due to Roseola infantum.

Henry Holden

PERSON WHO WAS SUCCESSFUL INSPITE OF DISABILITY

Henry Holden

From the time he was a young child, Henry Holden’s dream was that of becoming an actor. To date Henry has numerous acting credits to his name. He has made appearances on T. J. Hooker, AFTERmash, Hill Street Blues, Knots Landing, Hunter, Dear John, and Kids Incorporated. Henry also starred in a rock video, entitled, "I Got News for You." In addition to acting, Henry is an athlete, stand-up comic, and activist. Henry’s athletic accomplishments include downhill skiing, certified scuba diving, bowling a high score of 196 in league competition, flying gliders and single engine airplanes, riding at the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and finishing in the Los Angeles Marathon. Finishing the New York City Marathon is on Henry’s "To Do" list!

Henry Holden contracted polio during the 1952 Epidemic. He was four years old at that time. His disability has never stopped him from pursuing a path of excellence in his life, even though he wears leg braces and uses crutches. In addition to his acting career he now speaks on the guest lecture circuit on college campuses and K-12 schools across the country. Henry is a tireless advocate for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all forms of entertainment and media. He is the founder of Performers with Disabilities for the Screen Actors Guild, and recently, he was the recipient of the very first American Scene Award given by the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Arts for the rock video he starred in entitled I’ve Got News For You. Henry’s motto is "Attitudes are the Real Disability!"

See Henry's web site for more information on this actor, comedian, and athlete: http://www.henryholden.com/.

Stephen Hawking

PERSON WHO WAS SUCCESSFUL INSPITE OF DISABILITY

Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking knew what he wanted to do by the time he was eight years old. He did not want to study medicine, a career his parents hoped he would follow. Instead, Hawking decided to be a scientist and chose physics. Stephen was interested in studying the universe. He attended Oxford University in England, as an undergraduate student. He received his PhD in 1966 from Cambridge University. By the time he was 35 years old, Hawking was Cambridge’s first Gravitational Physics professor and received the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics award.

Stephen Hawking has also published a book called A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes. The book tries to explain many of Hawking’s physical and mathematical ideas and calculations without using math. The book became a best seller and was made into a movie.

When Stephen Hawking was 21-years-old, he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. This disease attacks the nerves that control a body’s voluntary movements. It affects walking, speaking, breathing, swallowing, etc. At the time of his diagnosis, the doctors gave Hawking two years to live. Hawking has defied this time frame and is still working. Today, Stephen cannot move much at all, has trouble holding his head up, and cannot speak, though he doesn't let it stop him. He now uses a special computer that displays the text he types and speaks what he types with an electronic voice.

Michael J. Fox

PERSON WHO WAS SUCCESSFUL INSPITE OF DISABILITY

Michael J. Fox

Michael J. Fox is an actor best known for his roles in Back to the Future movies and in the televisions shows Family Ties and Spin City. In 1991 Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

Fox retired from full-time acting in 2000, but still makes an occasional appearance on screen or television. He is married with four children and an advocate of stem cell research.

Patty Duke

PERSON WHO WAS SUCCESSFUL INSPITE OF DISABILITY

Patty Duke

Patty Duke is an actress. She has won three Emmy Awards for made-for-television movies. In 1965, at the age of 17, Patty became the youngest person to win an Academy Award in a regular category (Best Supporting Actress) for her role as Helen Keller in the motion-picture version of The Miracle Worker. At the age of 13, Patty starred as Helen Keller in William Gibson's play The Miracle Worker.

As part of Patty's plan to win the Helen Keller role in the play, Patty would practice at being a person with a visual impairment. She would blindfold herself and practice eating, dressing, and moving around. Patty also learned the manual sign language alphabet in preparation for her audition. It was her determination and practice that won her the role as Helen Keller.

Although successful as an actress, Patty was a very unhappy person. In 1982 Patty was finally diagnosed as having a manic-depressive disorder. Manic depression is a disease caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Patty continues to cope with this disability with medication.  The medicine is not a cure but makes the symptoms of manic depression easier to control. Patty is still an actress, but also tours the country as a disability advocate, giving talks and answering questions about manic depression and other mental illnesses.

Tom Cruise

PERSON WHO WAS SUCCESSFUL INSPITE OF DISABILITY

Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise is among the most talented actors in Hollywood. His films take in hundreds of millions of dollars and his fans also number in the millions. Some of his big hits were Top Gun, Days of Thunder, Rain Man, Far and Away, A Few Good Men, Mission Impossible, and Jerry Mcguire.

Even though Tom Cruise battles dyslexia, which is a learning disability that alters the way the brain process written material, he was nominated for and won several awards for best actor.