Five successful people you probably didn’t know had dyslexia and dyspraxia!

Dyslexia and dyspraxia are extremely common learning disabilities. I myself have dyslexia and with the support of the university, the Dyslexia Network and the knowledge that there are countless famous people who have made success despite their diagnosis, I feel confident enough to make it through life. When researching dyslexia and dyspraxia whilst undergoing my diagnosis, I found a number of successful people who had dyslexia that have made it far in life, and these are my top five!

Hans Christian Andersen

The Danish writer and poet was believed to have had dyslexia. The author of ‘The Little Mermaid’, ‘The Ugly Duckling’, and ‘The Princess and the Pea’ struggled immensely in school and was often mocked for it by teachers and his school friends. He often struggled with spelling and learning languages. His learning difficulty probably explains why his writing was so accessible in comparison to other Victorian authors.

Thomas Edison

The infamous inventor of the light bulb, the phonograph and the motion picture camera was also believed to have had dyslexia (as well as ADHD). He ended up being home schooled by his mother as it was clear that the support that he was getting from his school was non-existent. Still, this didn’t stop him from later patenting over 1000 US inventions.

Leonardo Da Vinci

The Italian Renaissance painter of the Mona Lisa, also a sculptor, engineer, inventor, scientist and naturalist was known for having dyslexia. He would often write his notes in mirror image – from right to left. However, this also helped because he was left handed so would prevent smudging.

Steven Spielberg

The filmmaker responsible for the Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park franchises, E.T. and Saving Private Ryan was diagnoses with dyslexia at the late age of 60 years old. He struggled his entire life, having learnt to read two years after his classmates. He was often bullied for it but has since showed those bullies what he can do.

Daniel Radcliffe

The childhood star known for playing Harry Potter revealed just over a decade ago that he has dyspraxia. He said that he often still struggles with tying his shoelaces and really struggled throughout school because of his handwriting.